Unlike most DTC brands that just work with a factory, Paire "actually start from the very materials itself" — from the yarn, weaving it into fabric, then sending that fabric to a clothing factory for the final garment. It uses Merino wool and organic cotton because "wool is antibacterial, it's insulating, while cotton is moisture absorbent."
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Nathan says product development is "the most important thing that pair does." Where most DTC or consumer brands "don't just work with a manufacturing factory to create the products," Paire starts from the yarn of a T-shirt, weaves the yarns into fabric, then sends that fabric to a clothing factory to make the final garment — which makes the process "a lot longer than a traditional product development process." The reason is the whole idea of Paire: "to create meaningful and purposeful materials for the right product for the right category." His example is that nobody had asked what the best material for socks actually is — it was always cotton, polyester or wool by default — whereas Paire uses a blend of wool and cotton so "your feet stays dry the whole day and they don't smell for days." As he puts it: "no one ever bothered redeveloping materials in the apparel industry, and that's where we come in and do things a bit differently."