Spartan boxers — for guys who insist on carrying a cell phone in their pants

Made from a cotton weave with 35 percent silver threading, the Spartans are seamless, odorless, and comfortable, according to the company. The fabric acts as an electromagnetic shield. The company mission statement is to “raise the standard of men’s’ underwear and make radiation-blocking underwear mainstream!”

The team behind Spartan took the threat of wireless radiation personally. Their story basically comes down to wanting to be able to use technology as they wished without compromising their health or fertility. They also wanted to create men’s underwear that was as stylish as it was protective.

In defense of the influence of cell phone radiation on sperm, Spartan cites a study by the Cleveland Clinic, which concludes, “Use of cell phones decrease the semen quality in men by decreasing the sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology. The decrease in sperm parameters was dependent on the duration of daily exposure to cell phones and independent of the initial semen quality.”

The company also links to the 2012 Bioinitiative Report, a compilation of hundreds of studies. The report’s conclusion reads, in part, “Human sperm are damaged by cell phone radiation at very low intensities in the low microwatt and nanowatt/cm2 range (0.00034 – 0.07 uW/cm2). There is a veritable flood of new studies reporting sperm damage in humans and animals, leading to substantial concerns for fertility, reproduction, and health of the offspring (unrepaired de novo mutations in sperm). Exposure levels are similar to those resulting from wearing a cell phone on the belt, or in the pants pocket, or using a wireless laptop computer on the lap. Sperm lack the ability to repair DNA damage. Studies of human sperm show genetic (DNA) damage from cell phones on standby mode and wireless laptop use.”

In addition to the radiation protection, Spartan claims the silver in the fabric is antibacterial which helps keep Spartan boxer briefs fresh and free of odor. The antibacterial activity of silver is based on the metal’s binding to other components and is widely cited, including by this article on Antibacterial Silver from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.