As odor control becomes a more popular finish on various types of apparel, brands are continuously looking for the best ways to test the performance of these finishes. One common approach is the wear trial odor test, where participants wear treated garments during activity to assess odor buildup, but is this really an effective way to test odor control performance?

Inconsistency in Perception of Odor

Every person has their own perception of odor. What you perceive as a pungent odor may not be pungent at all to someone else. Additionally, the odors we give off can vary by a number of different factors, such as age, gender, diet, etc. These are just a couple of contributing factors among many that can create inconsistency in the perception of odors.

These individual differences make odor control testing through wear trials highly inconsistent. Without objective measurement, results often reflect human variability more than product performance.

Untrained Odor Assessors

When brands conduct internal wear tests, the assessment process often depends on untrained evaluators. These participants make judgments based on unstructured exposure conditions rather than standardized criteria.

In this type of wear trial odor test, feedback is shaped by personal bias and subjective experience, which can lead to inconsistent and unreliable results. Even within a single group, odor intensity ratings can vary widely simply because participants are interpreting what they smell through different thresholds and expectations.

Generation of Odor

Do you know how much odor you generate when you work out? Do you feel that it likely varies from one workout to another?

The amount of odor someone produces isn’t constant. It can change based on the type of workout, its intensity, temperature, stress levels, and diet. During an internal wear test, a participant may not generate enough odor to clearly distinguish between treated and untreated fabrics. On another day, the same person might create significantly more odor under the same conditions.

This variability makes it difficult to draw meaningful comparisons, reducing the reliability of the wear trial odor test as a performance measure.

So what is a reliable alternative to a wear trial?

Scientific test methods offer a more consistent and measurable approach to odor control testing.

These tests use controlled environments to simulate odor generation and quantify results, allowing brands to confidently compare treatments and validate performance claims. Unlike wear trials, these methods are built for accuracy, consistency, and reproducibility.

In our previous blog post, we introduced a few test methods that are commonly used. Our paper discusses the different methods that can be used to evaluate an odor control technology.

To explore scientifically validated testing methods and learn which odor control evaluations deliver the most accurate results, download our full white paper