Design 
Quality of Materials 
Value for Money 
Craftsmanship 
Customer Service Working as a corporate retail employee has opened my eyes to the sheer volume of plastic we consume.
You’d think something like clothing would stick to the natural stuff we’ve always used, but nope. Somehow we’ve figured out how to spin plastic into a thread small enough to fool us into believing it’s wool.
It’s everywhere. Even finding denim without trace amounts of stretch fabric is a hunt.
I’m not a strict composter, nor will you catch me rinsing and drying my paper towel to cut down on waste, but I still care about the environment.
If I can find clothing that’ll actually break down within the century, I’ll give it a shot before I resort to man-made fabrics.
That’s the reason I was so fascinated with Pact. Between their obsession with organic cotton, sustainable farming, and ethically-operated factories, they could be my right-hand man any time I need to replace casual pieces.
However, there’s no point in just making the “stuff” if it doesn’t look and feel nice. I snagged a shirt, jogger, and brief from Pact to unearth the truth about the brand.
What Is Pact?
Pact sprouted in 2011 when founder Brendan Synnott, after years working for premium food brands, sought to challenge the status quo in clothing production.
A few things didn’t sit right with him: Synthetic clothing isn’t sustainable, the people making it aren’t compensated fairly, and the companies profiting off of it want it all under wraps.
With his sights on those issues, Synott built Pact around tackling each of them.
In a step towards customer transparency, the organic-cotton water savings, carbon offsets, and number of Fair Trade factory workers involved are listed on each product description page.
The factories they partner with abide by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) and Fair Trade Standards, ensuring workers aren’t overworked, underpaid, all in a clean and safe environment.
Pact also partners with Give Back Box, allowing customers to fill the box their order arrived in with gently used clothing, attach a prepaid label, and send it out to nonprofits who can use them.
Synott gets that in order to maximize good, their product must be approachable. With that, those eyeing a piece from them can save on most of their items through bundle deals.
Things to Consider Before Buying
Pact upholds the durable, soft, and ani-itch properties of cotton, so you’ll find that a product from them will be mostly made of the material.
If you’re someone who values features commonly found with synthetic fabrics such as stretch, anti-odor, or stain defense, you won’t find any of those here.
Pact has only deepened my existing love for organic cotton. Their tees and trousers might require some breaking in, but they soften up wonderfully, and the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant is the toughest jogger I’ve tried on. Keeping in mind price and texture, their briefs are a great value, but their bundle pricing makes that possible for other pieces, too.
My Hands-On Review
Softspun Crew Neck Tee
A t-shirt lays the runway for 99% of my outfits.
Even if my tee isn’t the main attraction, you know I’m picking the comfiest one to stand between my skin and the outerwear I’m sporting.
Consequently, I go through a lot of them. If I can find a sustainable company that doesn’t make me feel guilty for my churning and burning, I’ll give them a shot.
On a resupply mission browsing the web, a few things jumped off the page when I stumbled on Pact’s Softspun Crew Neck Tee.
First, its 100% organic cotton construction.
If you’ve read a previous tee review of mine, this is no surprise, but some reviews reveal that pure cotton isn’t the end-all-be-all to a worthy tee.
Pact explicitly mentions it isn’t pre-washed, which would explain the texture upon first wear.
It felt slightly stiff at first. This is common for all-natural cotton, but it softened up nicely after just one wash and reached peak comfort around the fourth wash.
Once properly broken in, it’s second-skin comfortable. End-of-day wrinkles weren’t as common either.
The fit of the Softspun Crew Neck Tee runs slim. I avoid boxy-cut shirts as they make me look bigger than I am. My chest and arms have just enough room to move freely, but the trimmed design still accentuates both features.
I underestimated the shrinkage that would occur, which is my fault.
Despite Pact’s caution of natural shrinkage occurring after a wash, my size medium left the dryer pretty snug. I don’t mind the extra definition around the biceps and chest, but it left me with a cropped look.
If you’re between sizes, I highly recommend going one size up.
The Softspun Crew Neck Tee is a lightweight tee, but it comes with tradeoffs.
Its thinner construction makes it an excellent layering piece. I sweat a lot, especially if I’m wearing a suit, and there’s no bulk poking through my button-up when it serves as my undershirt.
However, it’s rather sheer. My example pictures don’t tell the full picture, but dark-toned skin or tattoos could be slightly visible through the garment.
As a visual aid, here’s the shirt laid over an “X” drawn in permanent marker.
For any of their alternative colorways (which look great if you’re into earth tones or pastels), I’m 99% certain this’ll be a non-issue.
The second thing that piqued my interest was their bundle deal. Pact drives a hard bargain for guys looking to stock up on tees.
I bought a single shirt for a touch under $30, but Pact lets you pick three for about $60. That’s basically a free shirt.
It goes for all of Pact’s clothing, but their detailed sustainability metrics got my admiration.
I don’t adore natural fabrics out of the selfish desire to be cozy. Synthetic fabrics are just plastic. They require harsh chemicals to produce and it takes eons for a polyester hoodie to decompose.
Nasty.
Each Softspun Crew Neck Tee accounts for 24 gallons of water savings through organic cotton cultivation, 8 pounds of carbon offset, all put together by a certified fair trade factory employing 4,816 people.
For someone who does their due diligence behind “sustainable fashion,” their open-book operation gets a nod from me.
Pact approached the creation of this shirt honestly. It seems like every eco-affectionate brand stands behind vague metrics and bloated price tags. Pact’s Softspun Crewneck Tee might start with natural cotton’s grit, but it develops the softness I seek in a tee. Their bundle pricing and sustainability boost my future return-customer potential.
Woven Twill Roll Up Pant
Softspun states their Woven Twill Roll Up Pant is “inspired by workwear, styled like it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”
Their proclamation puzzled me. My idea of workwear involves spacious pockets, rugged hardware, and perhaps double-knee reinforcements for scrubbing grout on all fours.
Joggers, with their slim fit and cropped inseam, go against that entire ethos.
It all started to make sense once I tightened the drawstring.
Like the Softspun Crew Neck Tee, they felt slightly gritty at first. Not enough to shudder, but it certainly wasn’t like any of the athletic or casual joggers I’ve tested before.
If you’ve ever felt duck canvas or raw denim, these joggers have a faint rigidity similar to those fabrics.
The blend is 97% organic cotton and 3% elastane. They don’t feel like cardboard by any means, but there’s a heft to them.
I love it. Having to baby a pair of pants is so annoying. When I can wear trousers capable enough for hard work, lounging, and everything in between, I know I’ve found the one.
After the first hour of wearing them, I thought “Yeah, I could see myself hiking in these.”
While I love the casual styling, these aren’t your typical, nap-worthy “athleisure” joggers. They require time to break in, but they’ll always have a sturdy texture to them.
All this talk of hardened, trail-worthy fabric might be a turnoff if you were expecting an everyday jogger.
The 97% organic cotton softens just like the Pact’s tees. Its beefy fabric requires more cycles in the wash before they get that “lived in” feel, but I don’t mind. Breaking in a pair of pants is rewarding for a clothing nerd like me.
Knowing that I geek about this stuff, the yellow lining stitched inside was a detail that sold me on these, and it’s responsible for the jogger’s “roll up” title.
For a standard jogger look, you can keep the leg unfolded. I never hesitate to add a sprinkle of visual flair to an outfit, and rolling up the cuffs exposes the hot yellow stripe.
Should you go with the Camel or Clay colorway, it isn’t as striking. On my Dark Green pair, the contrast looks superb.
Pact offers the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant in sizes S-XL with inseams ranging between 30-34 inches.
Their size chart states that a medium is best for 32”-34” waists, but I still opted for a large to be safe.
Honestly, I could’ve gone either way. I’m happy with the relaxed fit of the large. Based on how they fit, the medium would provide a slimmer cut without feeling tight.
If you’re between sizes on the Twill Roll Up Pant, I recommend sizing up or down based on your pant width preference.
This might sound pedantic, but I recently reviewed another pair of joggers that had a comically short drawstring. The pants themselves fit great, but having to surgically join both ends was a shortsighted design choice.
The Woven Twill Roll Up Pant’s has more than enough slack. I won’t be youthful forever, so should Pact’s jogger outlive my slim frame, I won’t have to worry about the drawstring getting lost inside the waistband.
Given the workwear roots of the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant, I’d like to have seen a more secure pocket design.
The side pockets are okay. They’re your standard interior pocket big enough for my phone and house keys.
More security on the rear pockets is an improvement I’d value. The unrestrictive design and durable fabric makes this jogger more than just a commuting pants, so buttoned fold-over pockets or even a zippered rear pocket would make them even better.
The Woven Twill Roll Up Pant costs just under $100, and I think that’s a fair price. Casual joggers from the competition don’t feel nearly as well made or durable. Sizing these was a cakewalk, and while they don’t have the luxurious softness of poly blends or fleece, they aren’t supposed to. I’ll gladly trade in longevity for a bit of comfort.
Everyday Boxer Brief
Pact takes a hard stance on the importance of natural fibers. I thought maybe their boxers would be 100% organic cotton just like their Softspun Crew Neck Tee, but like the joggers, there’s elastane hidden in there.
We’re living in the 21st century though. No longer are undergarments made of itchy hemp, tied around the waist with a rope. While not nearly as sustainable as plant-derived fibers, materials such as elastane and spandex are a modern gift that keeps things in place.
The Everyday Boxer Brief still has the unmistakable softness of cotton. A single pair costs under $20, but I’ve paid more for one boxer brief from J.Crew and Ralph Lauren.
Theirs were scratchy and irritating. Not the best texture that covers a guy’s most sensitive area.
Most of the synthetic materials are found in the waistband. The fabric itself feels like mostly cotton and the texture isn’t noticeable. Meaning, I like it.
Pact says the waistband has a “non-roll” design. I have a bit of a stomach, and the waistband hasn’t doubled over like some of my other briefs have. There’s no itchy tag sewn to the backside either.
I prefer my underwear to have a low-rise. This boxer does, but perhaps a little too low.
For context, I’m 6’1, and I ordered a size L. Whenever I’d hoist them up, the bottom would give me a minor wedgie, causing me to wear them lower than I normally would.
Based on your dimensions, this might not happen. It could be a pain point if you like the waistband to fall just above your pant line.
The Everyday Boxer Brief is a good pair of underwear. You won’t find any gimmicks like ball hammocks or stitched air vents, but it’s a comfortable pair of briefs for under $16. If you’re keen on supporting brands with a cause or prefer (mostly) natural fabrics in their clothing, they get my endorsement.
The no roll waistband and softness of the organic cotton are my two favorite things about the Everyday Boxer Brief. They also don’t cost that much, which is huge for a daily-wear garment. For the eco-conscious bargain shopper, they’re well worth a look.
What Do Other Reviewers Say?
Across 250+ reviews at the time of writing, the Softspun Crew Neck Tee has a 4/5 star average rating.
Satisfied customers consistently mention the soft fabric of the shirt and handsome fit, particularly around the torso.
One consistent drawback was the tag. I didn’t experience this, but some reviewers find the stitched-on tag to be itchy. Furthermore, one reviewer shared that the stitching decreased the neckline’s durability.
Those who bought the Woven Twill Roll Up Jogger are thrilled, earning it a 4.4/5 star rating across 141 reviews at the time of writing.
Comments sharing the true-to-size fit are plentiful. One customer said that the fabric balances looks and comfort, making them his go-to for flying.
The Everyday Boxer Brief has a 4.1/5 star average across a whopping 1100+ reviews at the time of writing.
A few different reviews complained of the brief running small, whether around the waist or the rise. For those that didn’t encounter sizing issues, customers love the form-fitting design and how well they retain shape.
My Thoughts Overall
What I Like
- The 100% organic cotton fabric of the Softspun Crew Neck Tee is soft, drapes nicely after a few washes, and works well as a standalone shirt or undershirt.
- Pact’s bundle pricing for their t-shirts is among the best I’ve seen from any other brand I’ve reviewed.
- The Woven Twill Roll Up Pant requires breaking in, but the heavyweight cotton fabric’s durability makes it a versatile alternative to athleisure joggers.
- Pact’s yellow stripe motif on the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant is a unique detail and gives the trouser multiple styling options.
- Given the price, comfort, and sustainable material use, the Everyday Boxer Brief is a better deal than other boxers I’ve purchased.
What I Don’t Like
- Given the Woven Twill Roll Up’s workwear roots, I’d like more function and security from the rear pockets.
- The rise of the Everyday Boxer Brief felt slightly cramped on my pair.
Who Is Pact For?
Pact is ideal for the guy who seeks a natural alternative to plastic-laden clothing that seems unavoidable these days. Not only do most of their styles consist of 100% organic, but Pact strives to operate an ethical company from a holistic point of view.
Their Fair Trade Certified factories, sustainable cotton crop, and low-impact packaging all lend themselves to the brand’s mission. Even if you simply prefer natural materials, Pact is a trustworthy brand for the eco-conscious buyer.
The Verdict
For clothes that use 100% organic cotton made in factories abiding by ethical practices, Pact is a true contender.
While some of their garments require a break-in period, I am completely on board with it. Unwashed cotton isn’t supposed to be ready for action. I prefer sustainable garments, even if it means they’ll be perfect after wash #3.
Out of everything I tested, the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant is my favorite. It fits me the best out of my three pickups, and the robust fabric can adapt to both my casual and recreational endeavors.
Pact has only deepened my existing love for organic cotton. Their tees and trousers might require some breaking in, but they soften up wonderfully, and the Woven Twill Roll Up Pant is the toughest jogger I’ve tried on. Keeping in mind price and texture, their briefs are a great value, but their bundle pricing makes that possible for other pieces, too.
