Undergrad’s research suggests ‘green’ laundry products could make children’s clothing less safe

This week was URSA (Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Achievement) Scholars Week at Baylor, an annual event designed to share the research being done by Baylor undergraduate students. Some 180 students and 70 professors participated in this year’s event, sharing details of their work through presentations and posters.

Here’s just one example: Haley Moore, a junior apparel merchandising major from Katy, Texas, found that all-natural cleaning products — an increasingly popular choice nationwide — may have unintended consequences.

Working with Dr. Rinn Cloud, the Mary Gibbs Jones Endowed Chair in Textile Science in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Moore found that flame-resistant fabric (like that commonly found in children’s sleepwear) loses more of its protective properties when repeatedly washed with organic detergent (compared with washes using conventional detergent).

Moore’s research was supported by a grant from the URSA Small Grants program and was one of dozens of academic efforts on display in the Baylor Sciences Building’s Carlile Atrium this week.

Sic ’em, Baylor researchers!

[For more on Baylor’s research efforts at the undergraduate, graduate and faculty levels, follow the new Research Tracks blog at blogs.baylor.edu/researchtracks and on Twitter at @BaylorOVPR.]