Soy Hand Soap Wins Student Competition

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA team of four Purdue University students took home first place in the 2016 Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition by creating a hand soap with a soy exfoliant. The team’s SoyFoliante product earned the students the $20,000 prize.
Purdue says the SoyFoliate soap is naturally degradable with exfoliating soy beads that replace plastic microbeads. The current plastic microbeads are being banned in the United States and the team says SoyFoliate will give customers an all-natural alternative to the products they will be losing.
"Indiana soybean farmers, through their investments in the soybean checkoff, have a long history of supporting the innovative research into new uses for soybeans," said Joe Steinkamp, president of the Indiana Soybean Alliance, which sponsored the competition. "For the last 22 years, this competition at Purdue University has demonstrated this commitment and has encouraged a whole new crop of future researchers to work with soybeans for the benefit of farmers, the soybean industry and the general consumer."
The second place team won a $10,000 prize with Soy Spacing Technologies, which produces soy-based construction and glass spacers. The third place team took home $1,500 with SoyPods, which are soy-based detergent pods.
Ten teams with a total of 34 students participated in the competition. The awards were presented Tuesday night at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.