DE-LYCRA/DCC
The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative, sustainable solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with Dairen Chemical Corporation (DCC) to convert QIRA®—the next generation of 1,4 butanediol (BDO)—into low-impact PTMEG, the main ingredient in patented bio-derived LYCRA® fiber. Dairen will be the first company in the world to mass produce this low-impact bio-PTMEG at scale.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240509462079/en/
Left to Right: Steve Stewart, chief brand and innovation officer, The LYCRA Company, and Shean-Tung Lin, Chairman, Dairen Chemical Corporation (DCC), sign a letter of intent for DCC to convert QIRA® into low-impact PTMEG for bio-derived LYCRA® fiber. (Photo: Business Wire)
In September 2022, The LYCRA Company and Qore® announced they were joining forces to enable the production of bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®. Now, DCC joins this distinctive collaboration, converting QIRA® into bio-PTMEG. This unique PTMEG will make up the renewable portion of LYCRA® fiber, accounting for 70% of the fiber’s content. It is being made exclusively for The LYCRA Company to its stringent specifications. With its low-impact allyl alcohol process, DCC has pioneered a technology that creates the lowest-impact PTMEG available, which is cleaner and has a lower carbon footprint than product produced with natural gas or coal.1
The LYCRA Company, Qore®, and DCC are united by a shared commitment to R&D, health and safety, sustainability, and conservation. To mark this event, Steve Stewart, The LYCRA Company’s chief brand and innovation officer, presented DCC with a Green Partner Award. The award acknowledges DCC’s ongoing sustainability efforts and commitment to creating low-impact products.
“Our collaboration heralds a brand-new era of environmentally conscious production activities, fueled by our shared commitment to reducing carbon footprints and developing world-leading eco-friendly solutions,” said DCC’s chairman, Lin Shean-Tung. “Sustainability is not merely a trend, but an imperative for the future of our planet. We are honored to receive the Green Partner Award and embark on this journey alongside The LYCRA Company, advancing sustainable practices in the industry.”
Available in early 2025, patented bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA® will be the world’s first renewable spandex available on a large scale. By using annually renewable dent corn, an initial screening calculation indicates that the carbon footprint of LYCRA® fiber potentially could be reduced by up to 44 percent2 compared to LYCRA® fiber without bio-derived materials. Further, the fiber will offer equivalent performance to traditional LYCRA® fiber, making it an easy replacement for mills, brands and retailers.
“We are excited to collaborate with DCC to bring bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA® to market and realize our shared vision for a more sustainable value chain,” said Stewart. “Given the combination of using bio-derived input from corn, plus conversion at a state-of-the-art QORE® facility run on wind power, and transformation to PTMEG using DCC’s low-impact process, we anticipate the potential for additional reductions as we go into production.”
For many years, Dairen has demonstrated its sustainability efforts in raw materials management, waste elimination, process enhancement, innovations, and more. It has also achieved significantly lower carbon emissions in its product offerings than its competition.
“Sustainability has evolved from fulfilling requirements to being a competitive advantage,” said Simon Chuang, vice president of global sourcing and procurement at The LYCRA Company. “We’re committed to selecting, promoting, and expanding our business with supply partners like DCC who embrace and drive meaningful sustainability efforts.”
Visit lycra.com/qira to learn more about bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®.
1Estimate from Cradle-to-Gate Screening PCF for a representative DAIREN PTMEG manufacturing facility, year 2023, prepared by DNV Business Assurance Co., Ltd.
2Estimate from Cradle-to-Gate Screening LCA for a representative LYCRA® fiber manufacturing facility, June 2022, prepared by Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc.
About The LYCRA Company
The LYCRA Company innovates and produces fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries and owns the leading consumer brands: LYCRA®, LYCRA HyFit®, LYCRA® T400®, COOLMAX®, THERMOLITE®, ELASPAN®, SUPPLEX® and TACTEL®. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., The LYCRA Company is recognized worldwide for its sustainable products, technical expertise, and marketing support. The LYCRA Company focuses on adding value to its customers’ products by developing unique innovations designed to meet the consumer’s need for comfort and lasting performance. For more information, visit lycra.com.
About Qore® LLC
Formed through a joint venture by Cargill and HELM AG, Qore® helps leading brands replace fossil-based chemistries with bio-derived intermediates. At the heart of the joint venture is the production of QIRA®, the next-generation bio-derived 1,4-butanediol (BDO). Made biologically through the fermentation of plant-based sugars, QIRA® can save up to 86% of greenhouse gas emissions when replacing today’s widely used chemical intermediates made from traditional fossil sources. Bio-derived QIRA® can be used the same way as its fossil counterpart but with significantly better environmental performance. Qore® and QIRA® are trademarks of Qore® LLC. For more information and inquiries visit https://www.myqira.com/.
About Dairen Chemical Corporation (DCC)
Founded in 1979, DCC is a leading maker of acetyl and allyl chemicals. The company board has been chaired by Mr. Lin Shean-Tung since June 2019. DCC operates seven production sites in Asia and serves customers in more than one hundred countries. Major products include Vinyl Acetate Monomer, Vinyl Acetate Ethylene (VAE) Emulsion, VAE Redispersible Powder, Allyl Alcohol, 1,4-Butanediol and PTMEG. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, its productions sites are in Taiwan, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Under the leadership of Chairman Lin, DCC is expanding its international activities and enhancing its global presence.
LYCRA® is a trademark of The LYCRA Company.
QIRA® is a trademark of Qore®.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240509462079/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
INNIO wins prestigious German Sustainability Award 20269.12.2025 09:07:00 CET | Press release
INNIO Group has been awarded the German Sustainability Award for Companies 2026. At the 18th annual ceremony in Düsseldorf, INNIO was named winner in the “Engines and Turbines” category within the “Machines and Installations” sector. Recognized as one of Europe’s most respected distinctions for corporate responsibility, the German Sustainability Award reflects the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and thus on the key areas of transformation such as climate, biodiversity, resources, supply chain, and society. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251205520809/en/ INNIO wins prestigious German Sustainability Award 2026 (c) Frank Fendler “This award is a tremendous recognition for our entire team and validates our 360-degree approach to sustainable innovation throughout the value chain,” said Marcin Kawa, VP Sustainability at INNIO Group. “We are committed to actively shaping the energy transition and delivering solutions th
EURONICS and NIQ Forge Strategic Collaboration to Elevate Retail Pricing Intelligence9.12.2025 09:00:00 CET | Press release
NIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a leading consumer intelligence company combined with GfK in 2023, has been selected by EURONICS, a leading global shopping cooperative in the Technical Consumer Goods (TCG) sector, to provide comprehensive Online Price Monitoring. NIQ's Online Price Monitoring provides insights into pricing dynamics by tracking item-level pricing across a defined data set. The system captures product information, matches items accurately, and ensures quality through advanced automated processes combined with human oversight and detailed checks. NIQ offers a range of retail pricing solutions, including pricing intelligence tools and the Consumer Price Lab, empowering businesses to make informed decisions and optimize their pricing strategies. This collaboration focuses on providing EURONICS with comprehensive pricing insights to support informed decision-making. NIQ delivers accurate and transparent data to help EURONICS understand market dynamics and plan effectively. "Through our col
SonicEdge and Earfab Partner to Shape the Future of Personalized Audio and Hearing Wellness9.12.2025 09:00:00 CET | Press release
Partnership unites SonicEdge’s micro-speaker technology with Earfab’s custom-fit innovation to deliver unmatched comfort and fidelity SonicEdge, a pioneer in micro-acoustic innovation, today announced a strategic partnership with Earfab, the innovator of custom-fit hearing technology, to co-develop a new generation of personalized audio solutions that unite comfort, precision, and hearing safety. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251209472421/en/ Credit: SonicEdge By combining SonicEdge’s high-performance MEMS speaker-in-chip technology with Earfab’s custom-fit eartips – crafted using its proprietary earfabSCAN 3D smartphone scanning platform – the collaboration delivers a first-of-its-kind experience that redefines in-ear performance. The joint solution provides a perfect acoustic seal for enhanced sound fidelity, improved active noise cancellation, and long-term listening comfort – without compromising hearing
Outpost24 Acquires Infinipoint to Power Its Entry into the Zero Trust Workforce Access Market9.12.2025 08:00:00 CET | Press release
The strategic acquisition strengthens market leadership by unifying user identity with device trust, eliminating security blind spots. Outpost24, a leader in exposure management and identity security, today announced the acquisition of Infinipoint, a specialist in device identity, posture validation, and secure workforce access. The acquisition marks Outpost24’s entry into the Zero Trust Workforce Access market and enhances its identity security division, Specops, by laying the foundation for a unified approach that evaluates both the user and the device before access is granted. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208750630/en/ Ido Erlichman, Chief Executive Officer of Outpost24. As organizations advance their Zero Trust strategies, authentication alone is no longer enough. MFA and SSO confirm who the user is, but they do not validate the security of the device being used. In hybrid environments where employee
VSO Submits VCP v1.0 to Nineteen Regulatory Authorities Across Thirteen Jurisdictions and Completes First Integrated Evaluation in a Production-Like Environment9.12.2025 08:00:00 CET | Press release
The VeritasChain Standards Organization (VSO) announced today that it has submitted the VeritasChain Protocol (VCP) v1.0 to nineteen regulatory authorities across thirteen jurisdictions, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates (DIFC), Australia, India, South Korea, Switzerland, Brazil, Liechtenstein, and Saudi Arabia. The submissions present VCP v1.0 as a cryptographic audit framework designed to address emerging supervisory requirements under the EU AI Act Article 12 for logging and traceability, and MiFID II / RTS 25 for timestamp integrity and event ordering in AI-driven and algorithmic trading systems. VSO also confirmed the first completed integration of VCP v1.0 within a controlled, production-like evaluation environment operating under its Early Access Program. The environment successfully generated cryptographically linked event chains, immutable hashing, and verifiable proofs using RFC-aligned structures, demonstr
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom