The message came loud and clear from Levi Strauss & Co.,
the company who invented jeans: “No, you don’t have to wash those jeans -- really!” They seem to be the experts on jeans, right? So they must know what they're talking about. Or so we thought.
Chip Bergh, president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., posted a manifesto in January 2018 proclaiming that he had never washed his jeans. It was a shocking statement, to
say the least, but if you read on, you learn that it's not so much about the
durability of the jeans as it is about carbon footprints and saving water.
The point really was to show that most people do not need to wash their
jeans every day unless said jeans are dirty. It’s a good idea to follow his advice to that extent because we probably overwash our clothes. Not to mention we could all try harder to use less water. But how often should we wash our jeans?
After just one wear, jeans are covered
inside and out with bacteria, skin oils and whatever you came in contact with that day. All that bacteria can make your jeans stink, and you don’t want to
be known as Stinky Pants.
Some denim experts swear you should just stick ‘em in the
freezer. That will do nothing; the smell will sleep as the bacteria is frozen,
but once the jeans thaw, the smell game is back on. Plus, the freezer can’t break
down oil or remove all those dead skin flakes.
A cold water wash with a gentle detergent and a line dry should be enough to get clean jeans. How often this should be done depends on your lifestyle, but considering you’re sitting in a pool of microbes daily, a weekly wash will suffice. One note: absolutely wash if they reek. Good Housekeeping recommends washing inside-out with color-preserving
detergent if you’re worried about fading.
It’s actually good to wash your pants because denim, a hearty, tough
fabric, can stretch out over time, and a good wash will tighten the fibers up
again.
Lastly, washing adds character to your jeans; some people pay good money for a pair of faded jeans with a bunch of holes.
TL; DR: Yes, you need to wash your pants. Especially mom jeans.