Sniff test: Do Shreddies fart-filtering underwear actually work?

Potentially this year’s Snuggie, Shreddies are a pair of underwear that purport to mitigate the smell of flatulence. They’re built with a layer of Zorflex, an activated carbon cloth, that is intended to take the stink out of our gaseous emissions.

Trying to create a Dutch oven — pulling a blanket over our heads while simultaneously letting one rip, to trap the smell and truly share it with your partner — is one of those couple “games” that I have been pulling on my wife for years.

Yes, it is a wonder that she ever let me share a bed with her in the first place, let alone decide to spend her life with me. And for the record, she is one of those women who has never farted in her life. Or, at least, never stunk up the place in my presence.

I, on the other cheek, boost the family average. Shreddies actually positions itself as health-care underwear, made particularly for people with irritable bowel syndrome or incontinence, and while I don’t suffer from those issues, there are certainly days when a pair of flatulence-filtering undies would be a great benefit for those around me.

In doing research for this story, I found many dubious claims about cutting the cheese — e.g. the common claim that the average person farts 14 times a day. As for why, there is a great recent YouTube clip by ASAPScience, which explains the science of passing gas: while we eat, air is trapped in our digestive systems and must eventually escape, either as a burp or a fart. The video is a must watch to explain why “silent but deadly” emissions truly earn their names.

As for the Shreddies, the website — which features a pair of beautiful models in their undies, including one photo where the dude is sticking his nose right up to the woman’s bum — makes a big deal about sizing, as the underwear needs to be tight, so gas can’t escape. The Zorflex back panel does feel like an extra layer of cloth back there. I prefer my gitches to be a little roomy, but the pair we ordered were supposedly for a 36-38 waist (I am usually a 34) and I still found them to be rather tight. Made in Britain, it might be because of European sizing, though it definitely helped to create a sealed gas-catching zone.

Shreddies are part of a recent wave of high-tech underwear — all met with some skepticism. After all, why update an article of clothing that has never changed? That is something that Joanna Griffiths has also had to face with Knixwear, a Toronto-based start-up that has created a fashionable line of underwear for women that helps trap body moisture and keep women feeling fresh longer.

“From a functionality standpoint, there are similarities (between the two products). I even looked at putting carbon into our product and decided not to,” she says. “I see that they are kind of going for a health-based but still jokey approach. But with things like this and all the media attention that they are getting, (it) is great for us, because it starts a conversation.”

But she also gets the same big question that everyone asks: Does it work?

I wore Shreddies for three days around town and they seemed to work pretty well, although I wasn’t particularly gassy. Sure, I let a couple fly — including one attempt on an elevator at work, which has mirrored walls, so I watched all the faces for familiar signs of putrid smell recognition, but no joy. Still, I needed to enlist another set of nostrils.

Back under the sheets in the Dutch oven, I let loose a few. One loud one and a couple of quieter follow-ups. Speaking scientifically, the problem with fart testing is that each one is a random occurrence, so you never know exactly what their stink level is going to be. There is no control group to compare it with.

My wife inhales a big whiff and

says: “I don’t smell anything.”

Success! The Shreddies seem to do what they say.

But how much is that freedom worth to you? Remember, there’s no muffler for the noise, so you can’t exactly fart with abandon. And Shreddies aren’t cheap. A single pair costs £28 ($49 Canadian) or a three-pack for £60 ($105), with an additional $10 for shipping.

For that price, there should at least be some sort of gag — or any — gift packaging. They showed up in a Ziploc bag, with little to no identification, and some direction that warns you should never put them in the dryer, or risk messing up the Zorflex.

They look too much like normal underwear, which is great if you’re trying to be discreet. But if you are thinking of getting these as a useful joke for someone, that is probably the thing that stinks the most about the product