The secret to wrinkle-free shirts is a formaldehyde resin finish that stiffens fabric fibers — leading to holes, frays and texture damage from bends and chafing when resin-treated garments go through washing and drying. The net cost? You’d better buy two or three wrinkle-free shirts at a time because they only last half as long as traditional untreated garments. We’ve yet to wear a resin-coated garment that’s as comfortable as good old-fangled cotton with a crisp ironed finish.