The LYCRA Company Announces Collaboration With Qore® to Use QIRA® for Next Generation Bio-derived LYCRA® Fiber at Scale
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/
Contact information
Karie J. Ford karie.j.ford@Lycra.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
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
Crown Bioscience Expands US Presence with New Model Development Center in Kannapolis, North Carolina17.9.2025 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
Crown Bioscience, a global contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in the United States and part of JSR Life Sciences and Japan-based JSR Corporation, today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art model development center in Kannapolis, North Carolina. This strategic investment expands the company’s operations and enhances its ability to deliver advanced preclinical oncology models, including patient-derived xenografts (PDX), PDX warm models, PDX-derived organoids (PDXO), and patient-derived organoids (PDO), to meet the evolving needs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250917864004/en/ Crown Bioscience celebrate the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s new Kannapolis, North Carolina facility, marking an expansion of US oncology model development and preclinical CRO services. The new facility strengthens Crown Bioscience’s US-based capabil
SBC Medical Accelerates Multi-Brand Strategy with Hybrid Dermatology Model “Hada no Aozora Clinic” Establishment17.9.2025 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
SBC Medical Group Holdings Incorporated (Nasdaq: SBC) (“SBC Medical”), a global provider of comprehensive consulting and management services to the medical corporations and their clinics, today announced the launch of a new brand, “Hada no Aozora Clinic”, scheduled to open in Tokyo on October 1, 2025. This clinic will adopt a hybrid dermatology model that integrates insurance-covered general dermatology and private-pay aesthetic treatments, advancing SBC’s multi-brand strategy in the rapidly expanding aesthetic medicine market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250917897380/en/ SBC Medical Accelerates Multi-Brand Strategy with Hybrid Dermatology Model “Hada no Aozora Clinic” Establishment As life expectancy continues to rise and demographic aging accelerates, more people are seeking treatments that help them maintain both well-being and a youthful appearance over a longer lifespan. Within this environment, aesth
Merck to Present New Data Highlighting Durable Effects of MAVENCLAD ® in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (RMS) at ECTRIMS 202517.9.2025 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Not intended for UK-, US- or Canada-based media Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the presentation of over 30 abstracts from its multiple sclerosis (MS) portfolio. New four-year data from two large Phase 4 studies highlight the long-term efficacy, favorable disability outcomes and durable impact of MAVENCLAD® (cladribine tablets) in people living with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). These findings are to be presented at the 41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), being held September 24-26 in Barcelona. “As the only high-efficacy short-course oral treatment, MAVENCLAD has demonstrated sustained benefits across a variety of outcomes—extending beyond relapses and MRI—without requiring continuous immunosuppression,” said Alex Kulla, Senior Vice President & Global Head of the Neurology & Immunology Medical Unit for the Healthcare business of Merck. “With over two decades of clinical experience an
Rubedo Life Sciences Announces U.S. FDA Clearance of IND for Selective GPX4 Modulating Lead Drug Candidate RLS-1496 for Actinic Keratosis, Expands Clinical Advisory Board17.9.2025 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Rubedo Life Sciences, Inc. (Rubedo), an AI-driven, clinical-stage biotech focused on discovering and rapidly developing selective cellular rejuvenation medicines targeting aging cells, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase 1b/2a study with lead drug candidate RLS-1496 in patients with actinic keratosis. RLS-1496 is a first-in-class disease-modifying selective glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) modulator targeting pathological senescent cells that drive inflammaging and chronic degenerative diseases and conditions associated with the biological aging process. The study is expected to begin in Q4 2025. The first EMA-cleared RLS-1496 clinical trial began in May 2025 for plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and skin aging (photoaged skin); study results are expected in Q4 2025. Actinic keratosis is a rough, scaly patch caused by sun exposure that appears on sun-exposed areas of the skin, such as
New Study Finds That Using Masimo Technologies to Continuously Monitor General Floor Patients Reduces Costs17.9.2025 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) today announced the findings of a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety in which Dr. George Blike and colleagues at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire demonstrated that use of Masimo technologies to continuously monitor general floor patients can yield significant cost savings.1 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250917266545/en/ Continuous Patient Monitoring with Masimo SET® Pulse Oximetry and Patient SafetyNet™ In prior studies, the clinical outcome benefits of continuously monitoring patients using Masimo SET® and Patient SafetyNet™ have been shown to include lower mortality, improved resuscitative outcomes, and fewer rapid response team activations and transfers to higher-acuity care units, achieved through earlier detection and intervention to prevent patient deterioration.2-5 Now, in this new retrospective analysis – involving 3-1/2 years of data and almost
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