Our Factories

We’re extremely picky about the people we work with, and nowhere is this truer than with our manufacturing partners. Every Hamilton and Hare product is made in Portugal, in a factory where high quality product and excellent working conditions are of the utmost importance. The staff are well paid and are given the time to make each garment properly, as opposed to the assembly line conditions in which most underwear is produced. This extra time allows for important details, like double felled seams for added durability, and the label being sewn on before the garment is finished, so the stitching doesn’t show through on the inside of the waistband. Little details that you might not notice, but we do.

Regular factory visits are essential so that we can stand by the promise that we really know who made our clothes and how they were made. A few weeks ago we went to visit all our manufacturers in Northern Portugal, our first trip since the pandemic, so we were delighted to get back.

Most of our factories are in a beautiful rural area called Guimarães, 40 minutes outside of Porto. It’s green and lush almost all year round with eucalyptus and pine tree forests flanking most of the roads and on our visit this time the oranges and cherry blossom were just coming out too. We spent some proper time with two of our key suppliers, Sergio and Odette and wanted to introduce them to our customers too.

Sergio runs our underwear factory, a team of 60 skilled workers including machinists, cutters and finishers. He’s a huge football fan, like most Portuguese and a pretty snapper dresser too.

Odette runs our woven pyjama factory, the factory is actually set up in a neighbourhood house because it works well for all the staff, who are mainly mums, to be able to walk to work and juggle childcare more easily. We loved Odette’s unique approach to manufacturing and the quality of our pyjamas is testament to the care from her team.

Transparency of our entire supply chain is something we’ve pursued from day one. Knowing who made our clothes is step one, but beyond that is the production of the fabric and fibres. Our next trip to Portugal will be focused on the mills we use to make all our fabrics and the sourcing of our natural fibres.

Head back to the Hamilton and Hare journal to read more articles, or alternatively browse our underwear, clothing and complete collection.