There's a good reason why you can find a gazillion articles online about how often to clean certain articles of clothing — and why jeans are especially perplexing. As it turns out, the less often you throw your denim skinny pants or trousers into the washing machine, the longer they're able to retain their shape and hue. With that said, you can't never wash your pants because... ick. So, what's the magic number? Every three wears? Five? 10? (For the record, most fashion experts agree anywhere between five and six wears works best).
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But one innovative denim brand has found a way to eliminate the guess work when it comes to washing your jeans — ODO Denim claims it has developed the first self-cleaning pair of jeans and T-shirts on the market, which could revolutionize the way clothing is made. With 30 days left to go on its Kickstarter campaign, ODO has already racked up 773 backs who have pledged more than $100,000 to meet its modest $10,000 goal — so it's safe to say lots of folks are excited about this idea.
ODO founder Salman Chaudry says he felt compelled to find a more sustainable solution to the creation of jeans, which require a lot of water to manufacture. Chaudry also knew most people only wash their jeans to get rid of sweat and stains — so if he could figure out a way of eliminating those two culprits from a pair of denim, there would rarely, if ever, be a need to wash them again.
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And then he had the genius idea of reinventing the wheel — by weaving the same silver into denim that is used on NASA space suits — silver that can kill bacteria and odors. But don't worry: You won't look like you're headed out to the club every time you pull on your ODO jeans. The silver is woven inside of the jean's fabric so that it's permanent — you won't actually see yourself sparkle at 8 in the morning.
The result: Neither your spilled cup of coffee, nor spilled glass of red wine (hey, some of us are just a little too careless with our drinks) will affect your jeans — the liquid will actually slide right off the fabric without penetrating it. You'll also be able to go through the entire day at work without smelling like you rolled into the office from your local bar. The price for such a luxury is less than you probably think: A pair of ODO jeans costs about $95.
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And there's more self-cleaning goodness headed our way. ODO has also created self-cleaning T-shirts that can repel liquids and maintain their freshness, no matter how much you sweat. Check out their amazing promo video:
ODO denim
Imagine a world where laundry day can be replaced with pizza day, gym day or sitting-on-my-butt-reading-a-book day. Thanks to forward-thinking fashion companies like ODO, which is offering a way to help the environment and save us time, energy and money, that dream may soon become a reality.