Product Development and Evaluation of TOUGH COTTON Technology

Faculty at the University of Kentucky (UK) and Florida State University (FSU) will collaborate to develop and implement curriculum in the classroom that exposes students to cotton performance technologies by adding a TOUGH COTTON™ project to their courses. For the past 18 years, Dr. Easter has taught a ‘Product Development and Evaluation’ course in which students purchase garments in the market and utilize them to learn how products are developed and evaluated in the apparel industry. Students develop the specifications to produce the product and then evaluate the material characteristics and performance features of the product before and aftercare. Dr. McQuerry teaches similar courses at FSU at the undergraduate and graduate levels in ‘Product Analysis and Evaluation’ and “Quality Assurance Assessment”. Within these courses at UK and FSU, the faculty members propose that approximately 75-100 students will participate in a TOUGH COTTON™ project. At FSU, 50-75 students will focus on evaluating TOUGH COTTON™ leggings in a laboratory setting according to ASTM D4156-14 Standard Performance Specification for Women’s and Girls’ Knitted Sportswear Fabrics. Twenty-five students at UK will develop a 'tech pack' for the product, perform product inspections, and evaluate product performance, including care. Students at both universities will coordinate a small-scale 'wear study' of TOUGH COTTON™ leggings. The wear study scope will involve recruited participants wearing and washing the leggings ten times with assessments after five and ten use and care cycles. Students at both universities, as well as the faculty, will utilize CottonWorks™ resources throughout all project activities including videos, technical information, the list feature, the defects glossary, and the textile encyclopedia.