How do you choose a quality sweatshirt that doesn't pill?
Fabric weight, fleece type, polyester share, seams then washing, checked across six sweatshirt brands.
Sweatshirts, t-shirts, shirts, jumpers. We record fabric weight and composition from product pages, then read the reviews that report pilling, shrinkage in the wash or a neckline that goes slack.
Fabric weight, fleece type, polyester share, seams then washing, checked across six sweatshirt brands.
Fabric weight, collar, cotton and washing, everything that separates a white tee that lasts from one that turns yellow in six months.
Eight brands, 286 men's references checked on the official sites in October 2026, five criteria scored out of 10.
Eight criteria you can check in the shop to tell whether a pair of trainers will last three seasons or three months.
The criteria that matter for a bike commute, from sealed seams to a suspended laptop sleeve.
Recycled cotton saves water and organic cotton protects the soil. In a sweatshirt, a blend of the two fibres often makes the toughest garment.
Score out of 10, calculated on clothing only. How a garment survives the wash weighs as much as its price, and so does its share of recycled or organic materials.
See how we score
Compare two brands on our five criteria in one click.
Faguo tops the clothing category in our October 2026 data (8.4/10), with 51 sweatshirts priced between 80 and 125 euros. Le Slip Français (8.1) and Armor-Lux (8.0) follow. The heaviest fleece in the panel comes from Loom. Our criteria are set out in the guide to the sweatshirt that doesn't pill.
Aim for 300 to 380 g/m² for a fleece that keeps its shape. Under 280 g/m², the cuffs and waistband slacken quickly.
Friction pushes short fibres to the surface, where they roll into small balls, first on the forearms and along the sides. Washing at 30 degrees inside out and skipping the tumble dryer cuts this down markedly, whatever the brand. We explain how to prevent pilling in a dedicated guide.
Recycled fibre is shorter, which is why it is so often blended with virgin cotton or recycled polyester. Read the full composition on the label, since a recycled percentage on its own tells you nothing about how strong the fabric is, and fabric weight matters as much as the fibre.
Le Slip Français, Armor-Lux, Loom and Asphalte sell online, and most of them have shops as well. Asphalte works on pre-order, with longer lead times, which lets it produce close to actual demand.
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