Made In Portugal: Terlingua Threads Takes On The Sun With Hemp

Travel long and consciously enough and you start to really what ‘sustainable’ and ‘responsible’ means. Whether it’s tourism or manufacturing, there’s a balance between who profits and who pays that gets harder to ignore.

Fast fashion is an easy culprit. Accessible clothing designed and discontinued in faster and faster cycles, priced so low, someone, somewhere is covering the difference, whether it’s a factory worker or a landfill.

But even some of the biggest outdoor brands, once heralded for their commitments, consciousness, and community, have sold out to private equity funds that keep the name, but swap in mass production cost-cutting strategies and lower quality control. It’s the same logo you know, just a different jacket. And not always easy to discern.

It’s a deep rabbit hole I try not to go down, but when I can, I’ve started to support businesses that still do things in a way that can be respected.

Terlingua Threads is one of those.

How I Met Terlingua Threads

I came across the clothing company at an outdoor trade show at the start of 2026. Small booth, a couple of products, nothing that jumped out at me. Except for one note. ‘Made in Portugal.’

My wife (girlfriend at the time) lived in Porto for three years, and I based myself there for a couple of months at a time. So I stopped to chat with the person behind the table, a guy named Doug. I figured him for a PR rep, but turns out he was the founder and CEO. And although he wasn’t from Portugal, he and his partner run their small batch production just north of the where we used to live.

And so I stayed a bit longer to chat.

The Story Behind Terlingua Threads

The branded started in an airstream outside Big Bend National park, on a cross-country trip to visit all 63 U.S national parks. Doug was wondering why there was plenty of gear designed for cold parks like Glacier and Denali, while hot parks like Death Valley and Big Bend were treated like an afterthought.

Together with one of his best friends, they decided they would design clothes for life above 90°F.

They skipped the synthetic stuff, and started with bamboo, but didn’t like how it held up, before finding that despite the higher cost, the best material for the job was woven hemp. Going with woven hemp offered greater durability, natural breathability, antimicrobial properties, UV blocking, and a lower environmental footprint than cotton. Something they could feel good getting behind.

And then they traveled to some of the hottest places over the next couple of years to test it out, from the dry desert in Arizona to the wet-summer humidity of New York and even to the arid steppes of Central Asia.

Coincidentally, that’s where my wife is from and one of the places where we also tested out the gear.

Made In Small Batches Near Porto

Every piece is made at a small, home-owned studio near Porto that pays a fair European wage. And that’s something that resonates with us, because despite a lot of people going on about how amazing it is in Portugal and how they want to move there, the reality is that the very same popularity has created a disparaging gap between the local wage and rising cost of living.

Unlike bigger brands, Terlingua only run four productions a year, so pre-orders largely determine what gets made. If you order before the deadline, your size is guaranteed along with a 10% discount. Otherwise, you have access to what’s extra in stock.

For most consumers, this is inconvenient at best and at worst or a long wait, and potentially a lack of availability in sizing if the one they ordered doesn’t fit, at worst.

The Old New Problem With Small Businesses

So, for now at least, until Terlingua Threads is widely available in retail shops, where you can touch the fabric and try it on yourself, it’s a very deliberate purchase.

Note: You can use check out their WHERE TO FIND US PAGE to see current retail locations. As of the publishing of this review, they have one location in California, one in Colorado, and one in Australia. With 3 more coming soon.

You sort of have to really want it and also trust that craftsmanship and quality are as good as the company claims. You also hope it will fit, because while there is a 30-day return or easy exchange policy, you’re working with a small business at a small business pace. It’s not like clicking a couple of buttons and just dropping it off, box-less and label-less to an Amazon drop-off point, with a no-questions asked advanced refund, and a replacement delivered the next day.

Maybe we’re a bit too spoiled by the likes of Amazon and Walmart, because businesses used to operate this way. And largely still do, outside of the US.

But ultimately, you’re getting what is becoming harder and harder to find on those giant conglomerate sites. A unique product you can trace to its point of origin, crafted carefully by someone who probably cares more than the factory line worker being pushed to speed up the production line.

The company donates 1% of net sales to each of three cases: national park conservation, STEM education for a school in El Centro, California, and support for adults with disabilities in Portugal.

So what does it mean to wear clothes that you feel good about?

And that’s the question I ask myself.

Buying Beyond Quality

When it comes to outdoor gear, one of the priorities is durability. Sleeping bags, tents, packs, or poles. I prefer them lightweight, well-made, but from a value-perspective, I’m willing to spend more for this type of gear, because they are meant to be a buy once type of purchase.

More and more, I’ve been applying that philosophy to outdoor apparel as well. Sure, I’ll almost always be wearing the same color down jacket or rain shell on different trips, but that only matters from a style and being photographed perspective. As long as it keeps me warm and dry, that’s more important.

But it doesn’t hurt if I’m buying from local designers or smaller brands, so I am not inadvertently matching with a bunch of other hikers out there on any given day.

In Peru, I picked up a pair of hand-made alpaca fingerless gloves that I bought from a passing vendor while on the way to the rainforest. It’s been nearly 15 years, there’s a hole in one of glove, but I still have them. When I wear them or when people ask, I am reminded of the trip and the myriad of memories that came with it.

And, I do feel good that I acquired something unique and helped to support a local craftsman from that country.

I like my Nike running gloves too, but I probably won’t think twice about tossing them and replacing it when they are worn out.

The ‘White Sands’ Sun Henley

I’m particular when it comes to fashion. I can admit that I look for outdoor clothes to perform, but I need for them to look good. Their ‘White Sands’ sun henley is one of a small handful of products they’ve launched.

What I liked the most about the ‘White Sands’ henley was that it didn’t look like gear.

The Look and Fit. If I’m out for a run or hike on a hot sunny day, I’ll probably have on an REI Sahara Shade Hoodie, a North Face Sunriser, or Path Projects Wadi Hooded Tee. They’re all great, and they also look like performance wear.

The ‘White Sands’ pairs just as well with my blue jeans as my hiking pants, with a boxier flowy fit around the torso. I’m 5’6 and around 148 pounds with broad muscular shoulders, so I’m usually a medium or large depending on how tight the shoulders are.

I went with a L (Agave) and it wears very comfortably, but is just a big too big and long for me, because it was already designed to be slightly oversized with a relaxed fit for airflow. A M size would probably have fit even better.

My wife is 5’4 and around 112 lbs. She wears the S (Prickly Pear) and it fits perfectly on her, length and width.

The Material and Feel. The fabric is 55% hemp and 45% lyocell (plant-based cellulose form wood pulp) blend. It is soft to the touch and ‘flows’ well, which definitely helps in hot climates, especially humid ones, to prevent the fabric sticking to your skin. As expected of hemp, it softened even more after a couple of washes. I really like that it doesn’t have that plasticky feeling some of my other UPF gear.

The buttons are made from post-consumer recycled plastic.

Exposure To The Elements. What makes hemp a good material for heat is that it is a natural absorbent fabric. So, while you may think you want your sweat to dry quickly when it’s hot, in dry heat, the moisture retention actually plays favorably towards keeping you cooler. Especially if it’s trapped under longer fabric.

The Hood and Sleeves. The hood is big and there is no option to tighten it. It fits well over a cap and covers my head and neck with lots of airflow. It’s not going to win you any beauty contest, but it’s functional. You can also tuck it into the collar for a cleaner look, but I usually just keep it out since it still bunches a bit visually when I try to tuck in it.

The sleeves are made to be extra-long to go over the back of your hands and cover past your knuckles. There’s a reinforced thumbhole that I like, but personally, the sleeves are a bit too long when I use the thumbhole without rolling the excess fabric back.

The whole sleeve rolls up quite easily, and because the fabric is quite thin, it doesn’t bunch up around my forearms.

What I would like to see in a future version is a hidden opening for your watch, since I definitely use it for hiking and running.

The company says they welcome feedback and can iterate quite fast since they work in those quarterly production batch cycles.

The ‘Joshua Tree’ Trail Pants

This is where my wife takes over, and she likes these even more than she likes the henley.

The Look and Fit. Unlike traditional hiking pants, the ‘Joshua Tree’ trail pants look more like linen trousers you wear on a beach holiday. For women, the waist line is higher and is held solidly in place with an internal elastic. The hip area is cut wider and gently tapers down to the hemline.

My wife has larger hip bones, so she appreciates the almost ‘carrot’ cut, because it doesn’t bunch in around the stomach and crotch area. The inseam measures around 28” and falls perfectly for her height. She rolls up the cuffs when she wears it with her Lems Chelsea Boots, to not hide the elastic gores on the side of the shoes.

She normally wears a 4 or 6 depending on the hip area, and the M (Orpiment) fits her perfectly, but she does have a relatively small waistline (27”). She feels like it would be tight if she were any bigger. There are belt loops, but the elastic is strong enough that she hasn’t felt a need to use it with a belt.

With a L, the largest women’s size they carry, the waist still fits her well, with a bit of give, but the hips look slightly baggy. In our opinion, this does limit the ‘Joshua Tree’ pants to women with smaller builds. At least with this batch. This is a feedback I’ll be passing on to them.

Colors and Size. It’s available in four colors. Orpiment (Turmeric), Sandstone (Tan), Olivine (Green), and Obsidian (Black). The sizes run XS, S, M, and L.

The Material and Feel. The fabric is 100% hemp with post-consumer recycled plastic buttons on the back pockets. It feels soft to the touch, but not as soft or stretchy as the henley, which includes the lyocell blend. She says there’s a good airflow through the waist and legs and she never got hot in them while we were at the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan.

What she appreciates the most are the deep side and back pockets. A constant complaint I get from her is that most of her pants either don’t have pockets, or the pockets are too shallow. She’s always having to keep her phone elsewhere. The deep pockets on the ‘Joshua Pants’ are great because she finally has easy access to her phones on hikes for photos.

Exposure To The Elements. We haven’t exposed the pants to 100°F heat yet, but we at least know it can handle the rain. While trying to leave the Kyrchyn Gorge at the World Nomad Games, we were caught in a down pour. These pants are not meant to be water resistant, but since the weave on the pants are tighter than the shirt, it does shed a bit of water. After the rain, it did dry off quite quickly.

Pricing and Final Thoughts

The long sleeve henley sells for $118 while the trail pants go for $138.

While the henley is not as competitively priced as most of the my other sun protection shirts, hemp does cost more to produce than synthetic materials or cotton. Terlingua discusses their pricing logic here, breaking out their production cost multiples.

Ultimately, they claim that they claim a 2x markup compared to a typical 6x markup for standard polyester sun shirt makers.

Here’s what I think. You know how people have a comfort sweater or a favorite shirt, even if it’s a thread away from the end of its lifespan?

I’m finding myself reaching for this shirt regularly around the house, and it along with the henley and pants for my wife, have come on our last 4 away from home trips (3 outdoor, 1 city). It’s next heading to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park for a camping trip. And it’s going to be winter in Japan in December, but we’ll probably pack them for that trip as well.

We are fans. And I’m excited to see what they release next.

Updated on October 28, 2026