London - It could spell an end to laundry days – or at least make them a much less frequent chore.
Manufacturers claim they have invented a shirt that stays clean even after 100 days of wear.
The garment resists odour so effectively that it even smells fresh after being worn during rigorous exercise, its makers claim.
It is also said to need no ironing as it is made of is wrinkle-free material that can withstand even the roughest of treatment.
American company Wool & Prince said they developed the shirt for men who hate having to wash their clothes so often.
They sent researchers around the world wearing the shirts doing everything from backpacking in the Andes to dancing in sweaty New York nightclubs to test their design.
The shirts are made of wool which lasts six times longer than cotton. Laboratory tests have shown that wool fibres resist tearing and can bend back on themselves more than 20 000 times without breaking. Cotton breaks after 3 200 bends. Wool is also highly resilient to wrinkles because it has a natural crimp.
And the company said that while sweat itself has no odour, it creates an unpleasant smell when it remains on the skin and bacteria develop, but wool reduces this because it is more efficient than other textiles at absorbing sweat and evaporating it into the air.
The company has spent six months developing its trade-marked Cotton-Soft wool fabric for the shirts.
A spokesman said: “We use the finest wool shirting yarn out there-usually reserved for the luxury fashion industry.
“Our fabric will redefine what you think of wool.”
The company said it did not expect anyone to wear their shirt 100 days in a row – and that they must be washed at some point.
One of the testers, consultant Aaron Flack, said: “I crumpled it into a ball and put it in the bottom of my backpack when I am running around the city just to see if I can ruin it. No luck – it comes out ready to wear every time.”
The shirts are available to the company’s investors starting at £63 (about R800) each. Normal retail prices have not yet been announced. - Daily Mail