Campus News

Bamboo-zled

Ian R. Hardin, professor emeritus of textile science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal about alternative materials used in textiles that are marketed as “naturally antibacterial.”

Hardin was the author of a 2009 study that tested rayon-a material derived from bamboo that’s used in bedding, towels and clothes-for antibacterial qualities. While rayon is marketed as having these qualities, Hardin’s study shows that is not entirely accurate.

“The natural properties of the bamboo plant are simply not going to survive” the rayon-making process, Hardin told The Wall Street Journal.