What makes new clothing from Abercrombie and Fitch smell good?

The new smell in clothes is due to the finishing chemicals which are
used to preserve the clothes for shipping and which add extra features
such as stain or wrinkle resistance. The chemical which most people
most commonly associate with the "new clothes" smell is apparently
formaldehyde. Hope this helps.

"That ?new? smell is a potent mixture of chemicals such as
formaldehyde and urea resins, and they should be removed. The
chemicals are used to ?finish? fabric for a range of purposes
including stain resistance, mercerizing, keeping them from wrinkling,
and even sometimes for disinfecting. Most contain volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), which, like formaldehyde, are often sensitizers and
suspected carcinogens." --
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/250

"One common question that many people have at this point is, "Wouldn't
it be better if the clothing makers didn't put any extra chemicals on
new clothing?" One common reason to apply chemicals is mildew. Clothes
that are made of natural fibers, such as cotton and linen, can mildew
if they are exposed to moisture. Manufacturers use formaldehyde to
treat clothes that have to be shipped a long way, say, from Asia to
the United States, to prevent mildew.

Formaldehyde has a very sharp odor, and sometimes new clothes that
carry formaldehyde-based resins will give off a pungent smell until
they are washed." -- http://home.howstuffworks.com/question470.htm

...and from today coincidently you wont be smelling any clothes made
from Australian wool as they( A & F) have just bannned the use of
Aussie wool due to claims by radical animal rights group of painful
treatment to sheep during disease  protection procedures practiced
here.

Abercrombie also sprays their clothes with their "Fierce" cologne in
the mornings. A friend of mine used to work there.

They sometimes apply a fragance to mask the smell of formaldehyde and
other chemicals used in fabricating/processing cotton. Even far worse
are the chemicals used in growing cotton. Cotton farming has a severe
problem with pesticide overuse. Add in toxins from herbicides,
over-fertilization, and defoliants and you can see why the cotton
industry is one of the major poluters in the world today. When buying
clothes at A&F or anywhere else for that matter, look for "Organic
Cotton" on the label. One of the best articles I've seen on Organic
vs. conventional cotton appear on the HELP-U.ORG website.
http://www.help-u.org