Is The ‘No-Wash Shirt’ Gross Even If It Smells Okay?

A no-wash shirt is being held up as the most cutting edge convergence of science, fashion and laziness — and it’s hard to imagine a situation in which this is not totally gross no matter how much it smells okay.

While a no-wash shirt means less laundry, the squick factor here is immense — and before anyone accuses me of prudishness or over-cleanliness, please note I fall firmly into the “jeans, bras and hoodies never get dirty” category. (Okay, so maybe I just do less laundry than most people, shoot me.)

The no-wash shirt is a scientific advance by startup Wool&Prince, and there’s a Kickstarter, because of course there is. CoolMaterial first covered the no-wash shirt, explaining that a company founder had worn the top for a whole hundred days and found it to be not disgusting based on smell:

“Why can’t all of our shirts just be like our jeans and hardly ever require a washing? Sounds like science fiction, but Wool & Prince made it style fact with their new line of shirts. W&P founder Mac put his potential product to the ultimate test by wearing it for ONE. HUNDRED. DAYS. STRAIGHT.”

Again, we are as enamored of the concept of no laundry as the next person who isn’t weirdly into doing laundry, but this whole no-wash shirt thing is just a bit implausible.

Even if the Wool&Prince top smells okay after you wear it 100 times, is it any less gross than if you Febreeze a regular shirt to death between wearings? Does it not get sweat and dead skin and sushi juice and bongwater on it like every other shirt?

It looks like we’re going to find out — the Kickstarter seeking to raise $30,000 for the no-wash shirt has well exceeded its goal because it looks like the internet is a bunch of no laundry doing bums.

Would you wear the no-wash shirt 100 times in a row if you could get away with it?