FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Apparel merchandising and product development students recently toured Consumer Testing Laboratories Inc. in Bentonville to get a first-hand look at consumer product evaluation.

The students are in the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences. Instructor Cynthia Elkins coordinated the tour for her class, Quality Assessment of Apparel, which studies apparel from the perspective of structure, aesthetics, cost and expected performance of the finished product.

Consumer Testing Laboratories is an international specialist in the evaluation of consumer products. Each laboratory is equipped and staffed with textile, mechanical and electrical engineers.

"We are fortunate to have this type of facility close by," said Elkins. "It allows our apparel students an up-close, hands-on experience that coincides with their quality assessment course."

Labs evaluate a range of products, including apparel, footwear, paint, tools, toys, patio furniture, housewares, automotive products and more. Evaluations are based on how consumers will use products and what consumers can expect.

"Our guides led us around the building, explaining the steps a textile sample goes through when being assessed," said AMPD major Kaitlyn Bacon. "We walked through numerous work stations, and were able to watch the CTL staff perform quite a few tests." 

The Bentonville lab focuses on soft line goods, which are products produced with textiles. Tests include flammability, dimensional change in garment shrinkage, colorfastness, seam strength, and fiber identification and content.

"We saw flammability tests, measuring, crocking, multiple tests regarding safety requirements and tests determining performance levels in areas such as wicking, colorfastness and water resistance," said Bacon. "If a sample goes through every test and never receives a 'fail' marking, it's deemed acceptable to be presented to a consumer."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.