If you buy these jeans, you’ll never have to worry about washing them

Photo credit: Halfrain

We scratched our heads in disbelief when the Levis CEO, Chip Bergh, proudly proclaimed that he hadn’t washed his pair of jeans in over a year. How could he live like that? Didn’t he have any sense of personal hygiene? Was he immune to the swathes of bacteria that must have accumulated on the fabric?

Yuck.

Turns out Chip isn’t crazy after all. Not only do jeans require an astronomical amount of water simply to manufacture, they also remain in better condition if you don’t send them to the laundromat. But us ordinary humans are fickle creatures. We like the perception of cleanliness. And we’d breathe a lot easier if people around us didn’t know that we’re skipping our laundry duties.

A new startup is trying to bring Chip’s vision to the mainstream. ODO Denim claims to have developed the world’s first self-cleaning fabric which repels stains and doesn’t allow bacteria to accumulate. Its Kickstarter has already raked in US$90,000 with 687 backers – far exceeding the modest goal of US$10,000. There’s another 31 days before it finishes.

Founder Salman Chaudry, who hails from Pakistan, says the inspiration behind his project stemmed from that interview with the Levis boss. Unlike the rest of the world, he thought Chip’s assertions made a lot of sense. Having been part of the textile industry for five years, he knew firsthand the water-intensive processes which go into manufacturing a pair of jeans. So he took it upon himself to try and develop a more sustainable solution.

During his research, Salman understood that the two main reasons why people sent their jeans to the wash was simply because of stains and sweat. But water scarcity in places like California, coupled with high costs of laundry, meant that people were urgently looking for a solution.

“If I could eliminate sweat and stains from jeans then people wouldn’t need to send them for washing anymore,” he explains.

Space Invaders

After a bit more research, Salman uncovered the fabric that was most similar to the one he had envisioned – a NASA space suit.

“Astronauts wear their space suits constantly without washing them. And the magic element which allows that to happen is silver. So why not use the same silver that’s used in space suits? After all, 200 years ago, people used to put silver in water to make it antibacterial,” explains Salman.