By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER<\/p>\n
Published: 15:05 BST, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 15:09 BST, 4 August 2026<\/p>\n
If you can't stand the constant chore of laundry, this might just be the perfect invention for you.<\/p>\n
Scientists have developed a T\u2013shirt that can supposedly stay fresh and odourless for more than 30 days without washing.<\/p>\n
The HercShirt V5.0 is the latest product from the US\u2013based startup Hercleon, which claims to have created the 'world's first laundry\u2013free clothing'.<\/p>\n
The company says this impressive ability comes from the 'seven odour\u2013fighting elements' that are woven directly into the fabric itself.<\/p>\n
The most important of those are copper and silver, which have antimicrobial properties that should help to kill the bacteria that cause bad odour.<\/p>\n
Those bacteria\u2013killing properties are supported by the use of 'volcanic ash', which contains porous minerals that absorb odours \u2013 just like you would find in some types of clay cat litter.<\/p>\n
Hercleon is selling the shirts in three levels of odour protection: a three\u2013day 'Budget' version, a 'Standard' version that can last for two weeks, and the 'Max' option that can keep fresh for a month.<\/p>\n
However, don't expect freedom from the laundromat to come cheap, as a single Max shirt will set you back $79 (\u00a358.77).<\/p>\n
Scientists have developed a T\u2013shirt that can supposedly stay fresh and odourless for more than 30 days without washing<\/p>\n
The HercShirt is the brainchild of Cameroonian\u2013born inventor Wenceslaus Muenyi, who says he got the idea after finding that all his clothes smelled terrible after a few weeks of travelling.<\/p>\n
This led Mr Muenyi to develop the first version of the 'HercFiber', a material that would help to keep bad smells at bay.<\/p>\n
Clothes don't just start to smell bad because they are sweaty or dirty, but because that sweat and dirt provide the food for smell\u2013causing bacteria.<\/p>\n
Microbes that live on your skin build up in the fibres of your clothes over time, producing byproducts that create the distinctive smell of body odour.<\/p>\n