About Our Research
Our research centres on the physical and physiological interface between humans and textiles, and the complex issues that arise when textiles are worn against the human body. We seek to advance understanding of how textiles perform when being worn and used by people. As human ecologists, our research is not restricted to the laboratory. It often involves carrying out wear trials in field conditions in order to examine the interactions between human subjects and their clothing in real life conditions. Our current and future research is focused on three main areas related to textiles: (i) odour within textiles; (ii) performance of textiles relating to thermophysiological aspects of clothing comfort and protection; and (iii) sustainability of textiles
Group News
November 2020
- Our article "Exploring the connection between odour and clothing disposal" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the Textile Institute.
October 2020
- The article "Smell and sustainability: Can odour shorten the life span of clothing?" has been published in the edited book Transitioning to Sustainability: Transitioning to Responsible Consumption and Production. Great to see this published!
July 2020
- Check out the article published on the UofA Folio related to Mukhtar's MSc research "Research reveals why it's hard to get the smell out of polyester"
May 2020
- Our paper "Impact of physical condition on disposal and end-of-life extension of clothing" has now been published online in the International Journal of Consumer Studies. This is from the survey Lauren developed as an undergraduate student. Congratulations Lauren!
- Check out our paper "Retention and release of odorants in cotton and polyester fabrics following multiple soil/wash procedures" now published online in the Textile Research Journal.
March 2020
- Our manuscript from M. Mukhtar Abdul-Bari's MSc research has been accepted in the Textile Research Journal. Well done Mukhtar! Super exciting!
- Recently many of us attended the Institute of Textile Science (ITS) scientific session held concurrently in Edmonton and Montreal. Rachel presented a paper titled "Use and disposal of textiles: Behaviour matters" in the sustainability in textiles session on March 3rd and René presented a paper on "Textile microfibres in marine environments" in the student research corner on March 4th.
February 2020
- Check out the paper "Fashion sensitive young consumers and fashion garment repair: Emotional connections to garments as a sustainability strategy" now published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies. This is from collaborative research with University of Otago researchers.
December 2019
- Congratulations to Lauren for receiving the Canada Graduate Scholarship - Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement. Lauren will be traveling to New Zealand for her thesis research and will be hosted by Associate Professor Lisa McNeill at the University of Otago in April/May 2020.
October 2019
- Our paper "The impact of odour on laundering behaviour: An exploratory study" has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology & Education. This paper is from a survey that Cassandra Cunningham developed during her Roger S Smith undergraduate scholarship. Exciting!
September 2019
- Our textile-odour review paper has been accepted by the Textile Research Journal. Look out for it online first soon.
- Welcome new graduate students: Sabrina Marsha who is beginning her PhD, and René Arredondo, Skylar Brown and Ayesha Jain who are beginning their MSc programs.
