What? 100 Times…No Wash And No Wrinkles

Just when you thought Nike, Lululemon, Rebook, New Balance and a whole host of sportswear companies cornered the market in technological advances to cool, heat, and draw sweat and odor from the body with fabric; a new phenomenon has hit the streets…a button down Oxford shirt that does not require washing for up to 100 days. One should note that the shirt stays odor free. Not only does this shirt not require washing for 100 days, but it also claims to be odor free. An American company, Wool&Prince, developed this shirt using CottonSoft ™ wool. This wool is a proprietary product that is six times more durable than cotton and naturally fights odors and resists winkles. The shirt comes in one color and two prints which include: light blue; orange, white, and navy gingham check print; and white, navy and black gingham check print.  Currently, the shirt is only available for men.

The developers of this shirt distributed it to 15 individuals around the world to test the product by taking it through extreme measures. Some individuals tested the no wrinkle claim by balling it up and keeping it in their gym bag only to find when they retrieved the shirt from the bag that it was in fact wrinkle free and ready to wear. Others have worn it over and over again while participating in sports activities and claim that not only did the shirt remain wrinkle free, but odor free as well. So, far it looks like the product lives up to its claims. To date, 3,000 shirts have been manufactured and they are currently sold out until November when another batch will be manufactured.

What are the advantages of the shirt?

•   Less water usage for laundry.
•   Less waste associated with detergent containers.
•   Less electricity needed to operate laundry machinery.
•  Less trips to laundry facilities/gas savings.

What are the disadvantages of the shirt?

• The shirt does not make claims to be stain resistant, so if you spill something on the shirt it requires washing.
• The shirt is odor resistant, but can’t go 100 days without bathing and still have the desired results of odor free.
• It is only available for men; some women have the desire to have a shirt that is wrinkle free and odor free as well.
• The shirt is not manufactured in the United States
• Since a limited amount of shirts are manufactured, it could lead to a scarcity problem as the product becomes more in demand.

What does this mean for the future of the clothing industry if the claims made about this product are true?

If this shirt continues to perform up to its claims, the material could potentially be sold in bulk to other textile manufactures on a global scale for the production of various items of clothing not exclusive to men’s Oxford shirts. The sportswear industry would more than likely benefit the most due to the nature of the fabric. Wool&Prince could stand to gain more capital from the bulk sale of the fabric rather than manufacturing the shirts exclusively.