DE-THE-LYCRA-COMPANY
29.9.2022 02:01:44 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
The LYCRA Company,a global leader in developing innovative fiber and technology solutions for the textile and apparel industry, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Qore® to enable the world’s first large-scale commercial production of bio-derived spandex using QIRA®, the next generation 1,4-butanediol (BDO), as one of its main ingredients. This will result in 70% of the LYCRA® fiber content being derived from annually renewable feedstock. This change could potentially reduce the carbon footprint of LYCRA® fiber by up to 44%* versus equivalent product made from fossil-based resources, while maintaining the same high-quality performance parameters of traditional LYCRA® fiber.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220928005020/en/
The LYCRA Company signs an agreement with Qore® LLC to enable large-scale production of bio-derived spandex. Pictured – Julien Born, CEO of The LYCRA Company (left), and Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore® LLC (right), at The LYCRA Company’s headquarters in Wilmington, DE, USA. (Photo: Business Wire)
QIRA® will be produced at Cargill’s biotechnology campus and corn refining operation in Eddyville, Iowa. The facility, which is currently being built, will commence operations in 2024. The first renewable LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA® will be produced at The LYCRA Company’s Tuas, Singapore manufacturing site in 2024. The LYCRA Company is currently seeking commitments with brand and retail customers who are pursuing bio-derived solutions for their apparel.
“As part of our sustainability goals, we are committed to delivering products that support a more circular economy while helping our apparel and personal care customers reduce their footprint,” said Julien Born, CEO of The LYCRA Company. “We are especially pleased to collaborate with Qore®, a company that shares our vision for innovative, sustainable solutions. Their expertise in operating fermentation processes and understanding of the chemical value chains makes them the ideal partner to help develop a bio-derived LYCRA® fiber at commercial scale.”
“We are proud to partner with The LYCRA Company on bringing this sustainable material solution to the market. This collaboration demonstrates that QIRA® directly replaces conventional BDO and thus significantly improves the fiber’s sustainability profile,” said Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore®. “QIRA® is an innovative platform chemical that can be used in various applications across industries.”
The first generation of renewable LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA® will use feedstock from field corn grown by Iowa farmers and will enable a significant reduction in CO2 footprint. In addition to replacing a finite resource with an annually renewable one, another benefit for mills, brands and retailers is that there is no change in fiber performance, eliminating the need for any re-engineering of fabrics, patterns, or processes. Equivalent performance was demonstrated in 2014 when the world’s first bio-derived spandex was launched under the LYCRA® brand. The LYCRA Company has since been granted a patent for the process used to make renewable elastane from bio-derived BDO.
For additional information on renewable LYCRA® fiber, The LYCRA Company and Qore® invite interested parties to contact The LYCRA Company sales representatives.
*Estimate from Cradle-to-Gate Screening LCA for a representative LYCRA® fiber manufacturing facility, June 2022, prepared by Ramboll US Consulting, Inc.
About The LYCRA Company
The LYCRA Company innovates and produces fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, The LYCRA Company is recognized worldwide for its innovative products, technical expertise, sustainable solutions, and unmatched marketing support. The LYCRA Company owns leading consumer and trade brands: LYCRA®, LYCRA HyFit®, LYCRA® T400®, COOLMAX®, THERMOLITE®, ELASPAN®, SUPPLEX®, and TACTEL®. The LYCRA Company’s legacy stretches back to 1958 with the invention of the original spandex yarn, LYCRA® fiber. Today, 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 www.thelycracompany.com.
LYCRA® is a trademark of The LYCRA Company.
About Qore® LLC
Formed through a joint venture by Cargill and HELM, Qore® will help 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 93% 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.
For more information, visit www.myqira.com.
Qore® and QIRA® are trademarks of Qore® LLC.
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/20220928005020/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
Elliptic Sets the Engineering Bar for On-Chain Risk With “Built for Compliance” Paper as New Rules Take Hold and Banks Launch a Joint Stablecoin1.10.2026 15:40:00 CEST | Press release
Built for compliance arrives as crypto compliance rules tighten worldwide and a bank-led stablecoin enters the market Elliptic, the global leader in on-chain risk management, today published Built for compliance, a paper setting out the nine engineering decisions that determine whether an on-chain risk system can support fast, accurate and defensible compliance decisions at agentic scale. Machines are already moving money on their own, at machine speed. Compliance teams now have to make hundreds of thousands of decisions a day, at that same speed. However, many on-chain risk systems were never engineered to support that pace. A compliance system that computes exposure on a schedule delivers stale results. One that defines blockchain coverage loosely enough lets a screening miss exposure entirely. A system that skips testing disaster recovery, a spike or an outage, takes down the customer’s compliance system too. That gap between machine speed and system design is exactly what regulator
Impartner Releases AI Ecosystem Playbook to Help Organizations Move from AI Experimentation to Execution1.10.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
The AI Ecosystem Playbook provides a practical framework for assessing AI readiness, identifying high-value opportunities, addressing foundational gaps, and building a roadmap for AI adoption. Impartner, the world’s leading partner revenue orchestration platform, today announced the release of its AI Ecosystem Playbook, a new resource designed to help leaders and teams assess their current AI capabilities, identify areas where AI can support business goals, and develop a practical path to implementation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261001661549/en/ Impartner’s AI Ecosystem Playbook helps organizations assess AI readiness and identify opportunities to apply AI across PRM 3.0, partner revenue orchestration, and the partner lifecycle. As AI moves from experimentation into everyday operations, companies need more than a collection of potential applications. They need a framework for understanding where they ar
Whiteford Adds Six Partners in New York City, Expanding its Litigation, International and Corporate Practices1.10.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Lateral group joins growing Midtown Manhattan office as firm pursues targeted expansion strategy Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, a full-service law firm with offices across the East Coast, today announced that six partners from Chambers-rated Lazare Potter Glazer & Moyle LLP have joined Whiteford’s New York office: David E. Potter, James F. Moyle, Johannes K. Gäbel, Jaipat Singh Jain, Anna Pia D. Felix and Jacob Englander. This team expands Whiteford's New York office to more than two dozen attorneys and deepens the firm's commercial and securities litigation, employment, cross-border and corporate capabilities in the New York market. The six partners bring decades of combined experience representing mid-market companies, investment advisers, hedge funds, foreign corporations, entrepreneurs and executives in litigation, regulatory investigations, and complex business transactions. "We are expanding with our clients, our markets and our reputation," said Martin Fletcher, Whiteford's Managi
Skechers Enters Super Shoe Era With Innovative Skechers AERO Elite1.10.2026 14:20:00 CEST | Press release
Groundbreaking Design Gives Elite Runners the Performance to Break Barriers and Records in Any Race Skechers is redefining what it means to run fast with the Skechers AERO Elite. The latest addition to the innovative Skechers AERO Series makes its global racing debut today—marking a landmark moment as the performance brand’s first super shoe. Engineered to perform from 5Ks to marathons, the design minimizes weight and maximizes responsiveness, all while delivering Skechers’ signature comfort. The AERO Elite is built to win with the performance runners at any level need to go further, faster, and achieve that next personal record. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261001865320/en/ Introducing the Skechers AERO Elite, the brand’s first super shoe designed for racing. “The Skechers AERO Elite is the culmination of years of elite-level running innovation—our most technically advanced running shoe to date and a direc
Visa Data Shows Stablecoins Gaining Traction in Business Payments1.10.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Visa data shows nearly 17%1 of stablecoin-linked card volume is occurring across business and commercial card programs, underscoring growing adoption of stablecoins for settlement, treasury management and cross-border commerce. Today, Visa (NYSE: V) shared new data showing the growing adoption of stablecoins across business payments and commercial card programs, underscoring how stablecoins are increasingly being used as financial infrastructure. The findings come as businesses, financial institutions and payment providers increasingly explore stablecoins for settlement, treasury management, payouts and cross-border commerce. New Visa data shows: Approximately 17% of stablecoin-linked card volume in FY26 year-to-date occurred across business and commercial card programs. Visa today supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs spanning consumer, business and commercial card activity. Payments volume across these programs has grown nearly 200% year over year. Businesses are
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