These jeans don't need a wash

Denim lovers who cannot part with their favourite pair even for the duration of a wash will appreciate this new invention: a pair of jeans that does not need to be washed at all! They are the brainchild of Salman Chaudry and his start-up Odo Denim, which developed the world's first self-cleaning, stain- and bacteria-repelling fabric, aimed at saving massive amounts of water.

Chaudry, who has his roots in Pakistan, figured that people wash their jeans to get rid of sweat and stains. Eliminate those factors and there is no need to wash a pair of jeans. Ever. (According to Odo, the jeans do not start to stink even after being worn for a year or more). Chaudry drew inspiration from space suits as well as an old technique of washing with silver to make clothes antibacterial.

Silver makes the fabric antibacterial

“After all, 200 years ago, people used to put silver in water to make it antibacterial,” he explains. Add to that the fact that human sweat actually does not smell - it's the bacteria that feed off the sweat that form the characteristic odour of sweat - and one has quite a strong case for not washing jeans.

“We're weaving silver right inside the fabric, it's permanent. It's not a layer or coating on top, it's a part of the fabric itself. Even if you wash it a hundred times the silver won't go away. It'll last for the life of the garment,” confirms Chaudry.

In terms of making the jeans stain-repellent, the startup played around with reducing the surface area of the fabric by integrating nanoparticles. Now, liquids just slide off the material, even such heavy-duty ones as coffee, red wine and ketchup but also honey and water.

Odo has also developed a plain white t-shirt and scarf with the same properties as the jeans. Both will retail for 45 US dollars; the jeans for 130 US dollars, though early bird specials are currently available on the company's Kickstarter page; delivery will be some time in June.