The LYCRA Company Announces Collaboration With Qore® to Use QIRA® for Next Generation Bio-derived LYCRA® Fiber at Scale
29.9.2022 03:00:00 EEST | 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/
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
Andersen Global Strengthens Global Mobility Capabilities with Addition of Courdid BV9.6.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
Andersen Global has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Courdid BV, a Netherlands-based global mobility firm, further strengthening its cross-border workforce and expatriate advisory capabilities. Founded nearly two decades ago, Courdid BV offers a comprehensive suite of advisory services spanning wage tax, expatriate taxation, payroll, immigration, and employer of record solutions. The firm partners with multinational employers, public sector entities, and professional service providers to deliver practical, tailored guidance on complex cross-border workforce matters — distinguished by a client-first approach that prioritizes accessibility and personal service. “We believe in keeping things practical and relevant for our clients, particularly in areas that are often overly complex,” said Jean-Paul van ‘t Hof, managing partner of Courdid BV. “Becoming a collaborating firm of Andersen Global allows us to support clients more broadly while strengthening our ability to address cro
Marie® by Leo Cancer Care Makes History at Stanford Medicine — World First in Compact Upright Proton Therapy9.6.2026 16:22:00 EEST | Press release
Following the landmark first treatment at Stanford Medicine Cancer Center Care June 4, Leo Cancer Care today announces the role of its Marie® upright patient positioning and imaging platform in enabling the world's first compact upright proton therapy patient treatment. Delivered using the Mevion S250-FIT™ Proton Therapy System and powered by RayStation from RaySearch, the milestone is the culmination of a decade of development. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609870736/en/ The treatment room at Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, Palo Alto, California, housing the Marie® upright patient positioning platform by Leo Cancer Care (center foreground) integrated with the Mevion S250-FIT™ Proton Therapy System. The circular rotating platform enables a patient seated in the Marie® chair to rotate 360 degrees in relation to a fixed proton beam — replacing the large rotating gantries required by traditional proton ther
Volante Technologies launches “Vol360i” Agentic AI at the core of payments, setting a new global standard for intelligence in banking9.6.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Volante Technologies, the global leader in Payments as a Service (PaaS), today announced that its Payments Platform and PaaS operations are now powered by its “Vol360i” Agentic AI. The core upgrade unlocks autonomous and semi-autonomous collaboration to reduce manual intervention, significantly increasing straight-through processing (STP) rates to over 95%, accelerating exception resolution, and proactively managing SLA performance. Vol360i is immediately available to Volante banking and financial institution clients, with four main operating principles guiding Volante’s agentic framework to deliver a frictionless payments experience: Prevent Agents: Eliminate failures before they occur, boosting reliability and reducing customer-impacting errors. Repair Agents: Self-healing AI fixes problems in real time, allowing operators to focus on higher‑value tasks. Predict Agents: Determine the best possible outcome for each payment and deliver smarter, cost‐efficient decisions instantly. Sense
Boomi Adds Snowflake Cortex Agents Support to Agentstudio to Enable Unified AI Agent Governance9.6.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Boomi, the data activation company for AI and an Elite Snowflake partner, today announced the launch of Snowflake Cortex Agents support for Agentstudio. This new integration, powered by Snowflake, enables organizations to monitor, manage, and govern every Cortex Agent that is part of their agentic workforce. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609131798/en/ Boomi Adds Snowflake Cortex Agents Support to Agentstudio to Enable Unified AI Agent Governance "Customers are scaling AI agents into production, and partners are bringing new solutions to market at record speed, both powered by Boomi Agentstudio,” said Steve Lucas, Chairman and CEO at Boomi. “This dual momentum reflects the unique strength of the Boomi Enterprise Platform, empowering innovation while ensuring governance, trust, and enterprise-grade scale. Together with our customers and partners, we’re building the future of agentic transformation.” By leve
Xsolla Brings Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Expertise to Gamesforum Hamburg 2026 With Keynote and Panel Appearances9.6.2026 15:01:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global leader in video game commerce, today announced its participation in Gamesforum Hamburg 2026, taking place June 9–10, 2026, at NORD EVENT Panoramadeck in Hamburg, Germany. As an Exclusive Global Partner of the Gamesforum series, Xsolla will bring its direct-to-consumer commerce expertise to one of Europe's leading gatherings for mobile game growth and monetization, with Jane Startseva, Vice President of Business Development, EMEA, taking the stage across two sessions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609166526/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Xsolla's presence in Hamburg underscores its role at the center of gaming's shift toward direct-to-consumer commerce: On June 9 at 10:00 AM, Jane joined Adam Smart, Global Director of Product – Gaming at AppsFlyer, for a 30-minute keynote titled "Web Shops and Attribution: Closing the Revenue Gap." As web shops cement their role as a primary monetization channel for
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