At erin gray, we believe in supporting fellow small business owners, providing exceptional products and building up our team so they can do their best work possible. This means we only partner with other companies who pledge to do the same. Today, we are excited to tell you more about our partnership with our manufacturer and mill in Peru.

woman wearing white tee

Shop the Perfect Tee Collection

Good Working Environment

Our factory partnership means a lot to us, not just because we value their workmanship. We also appreciate the way our partners treat their employees. They are committed to providing a safe working environment and good atmosphere, and each employee is paid above the minimum wage. Not only are they dedicated to providing a fair wage for each employee, but they also go the extra mile by providing English classes for many of the account representatives. The factory also offers childcare options and family benefits. The factory and mills that we do business with are all regulated by the Peruvian government, so they run much like a factory does in the USA.

Erin, our founder, only works with fully regulated factories and mills and has personally visited them in Peru. She says, “We consider them family. They’re good to their employees and they’re very proud of what they do. Their employees are happy. Also, their quality control inside and out is very important to them.”

pima cotton fabric wrapped into stacks

Quality of Our Pima Cotton Yarn

The Pima cotton used in erin gray tees must come from the USA or Peru because of a trade agreement between the two countries. We started working with our fully-regulated Peruvian mill when they had 3 knitting machines and now they have grown to operate 35! This mill prewashes all its pima cotton yarn, which means all yarn is preshrunk. This adds so much value to our tees because the higher quality means our customers don’t have to worry about their CYAs or Basic White Tees shrinking after washing. You can be sure that the tee you try on in-store or at home will remain the same shape and size after countless washes. Furthermore, the quality of our Pima cotton makes the tees strong, durable and buttery soft. Not all tee companies require the highest quality cotton or prewashing, but at erin gray, we are dedicated to making our tees as luxurious as possible.

pima cotton yarn being woven into fabric

Making Our Pima Cotton Fabric and erin gray Tees

How does raw Pima cotton become our luxe fabric? The mill brings raw Pima cotton yarn in and knits it into a fabric. If one needle is off or broken, it changes the whole pattern of that particular fabric, so quality control must be tightly monitored. If something is off, they have to stop the machines and redo the batch. After weaving the fabric, the mill washes it, dries it and dyes it before sending the final fabric in all our signature colors to the factory.

The dyeing process is very complicated and can take three to seven rounds of dyeing to get the fabric the perfect color. Our mill is very particular when trying to match the exact colors. Even white can take multiple rounds to get right.

Once the final fabric in all colors arrives at the factory, the cutting process begins. It’s fascinating to see the huge cutting machines and iron gloves worn by the cutting team. The factory in Peru does all the cutting, sewing and tagging for us while also checking quality control of the product. Both the mill and the factory are very precise with every step, which is one of the many reasons our tees are considered The Perfect Pima Tee.

cutting machine cutting stacks of fabric