" An unbranded, high-quality, plain white t-shirt. For the last 30 years, we couldn’t find one. So, we decided to make one. Working with a factory in Portugal, our first attempt was a disaster – clearly, the perfect t-shirt didn’t exist for a reason. But, inspired by Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, who said, “Don’t expect a bad factory to be good for you”, we decided to move our production to Japan.In Japan, perfection is standard. For months and months we searched for the right factory to work with, until eventually, we found it: a tiny business that had been in the same family for three generations. With nearly 100 years’ experience, they’d once made uniforms for the Japanese Imperial Palace and had an unwavering dedication to excellence. Here was our perfect production partner – a factory that used a traditional, slow method with vintage circular knitting machines. In other words, the holy grail of plain white t-shirt production.

EAST MEETS WEST

Persuading the family to agree to work with our little husband and wife team was, however, a challenge. Japanese fits are different to those in the West, and so we wanted them to deviate from their idea of perfection. It took many months of dogged persuasion, but in the end, we managed to show them the benefits of our idea of perfection.

We haven’t looked back. Our relationship with our producer has blossomed into one of friendship and mutual respect, and it continues to be a privilege to collaborate with them. The quality and fit of our premium garments live up to those expectations we first set 30 years ago. And our punk attitude to current business models means Sunray is stocked by some of the most progressive, influential and discerning stores around the world.