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
International Human Rights Lawyer Jared Genser and Former White House Counsel Lanny J. Davis Join Legal and Advocacy Team Supporting Cambodian Businessman Yim Leak, Seiden Law LLP Announces18.9.2026 20:52:00 EEST | Press release
International human rights lawyer Jared Genser and Lanny J. Davis, who has close ties to two former US presidents and a worldwide reputation for defending those under attack with lies and smears, and for repairing the damage done to their reputations, have joined the legal and advocacy team supporting Cambodian businessman Yim Leak, Seiden Law LLP, which serves as Yim Leak's chief global counsel, announced today. Their first move is to hold the Thai government accountable, framing its conduct as either complicit in or willfully blind to a sustained smear campaign against Yim. Genser is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, an international law firm. Over more than two decades, he has served as pro bono counsel to five Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The New York Times has referred to him as "The Extractor" for his work freeing political prisoners worldwide. Genser's decision to support Yim Leak's team comes as the businessman faces an asset freeze exceeding 20 billion baht (more than U
Ningbo FEED Meeting Confirms Full Confidence in Q1 2027 FID for Allied Biofuels’ US$6.1 Billion Presidential Decree-Backed SAF and e-SAF Project18.9.2026 18:38:00 EEST | Press release
Allied Biofuels has held a major Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) meeting at Sinopec’s office in Ningbo, China, bringing together Allied Biofuels, Sinopec Engineering Group Co., Ltd. of China, Topsoe A/S of Denmark, Sasol South Africa Limited, and Plug Power of the United States — the principal international engineering and technology providers supporting its US$6.1 billion Presidential Decree-backed Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and e-SAF project in Uzbekistan. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260918708077/en/ FEED Meeting - Ningbo, China At the joint FEED meeting of the project’s core engineering and technology stakeholders, the discussions established clear alignment on engineering responsibilities, technology interfaces, design deliverables, project integration and the coordinated execution programme required to advance the project through FEED. All stakeholders working on the project expressed full co
Corcept Announces CHMP Opinion Recommending EU Marketing Authorization for Lifyorli ® (Relacorilant)18.9.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT), a commercial-stage company engaged in the discovery and development of medications to treat severe endocrinologic, oncologic, metabolic and neurologic disorders by modulating the effects of the hormone cortisol, today announced that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended that the European Commission (EC) should approve relacorilant, combined with the chemotherapy drug nab-paclitaxel, for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The CHMP’s recommendation is based on positive data from Corcept’s Phase 2 and pivotal Phase 3 ROSELLA trials, in which patients receiving relacorilant combined with nab-paclitaxel experienced improved progression-free and overall survival compared to patients who received nab-paclitaxel alone. The safety profile of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel in these trials was consistent with the safety profile of nab-paclitaxel monoth
Enhertu ® Recommended for Approval in the EU by CHMP as Adjuvant Treatment for Patients with Residual Disease After Neoadjuvant Treatment for HER2 Positive Early Breast Cancer18.9.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Enhertu® (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has been recommended for approval in the European Union (EU) as a monotherapy for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with resected HER2 positive breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant taxane-based and HER2 targeted treatment. Enhertu is a specifically engineered HER2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based its positive opinion on results from the DESTINY-Breast05 phase 3 trial presented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (#ESMO25) Congress and subsequently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to grant marketing authorizations for medicines in the EU. In DES
CHMP Recommends EU Approval of New Indication for Alfasigma’s Jyseleca ® (filgotinib), Treatment of Adults With Axial Spondyloarthritis18.9.2026 13:58:00 EEST | Press release
Alfasigma S.p.A, a global pharmaceutical company with a focus on innovation in rare disease and specialty care in areas where there is significant unmet patient need, today announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for Jyseleca® (filgotinib), an oral, once-daily JAK1 preferential inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), both non-radiographic and radiographic forms of the disease, who have responded inadequately to conventional therapy. Following this positive opinion, the application is now referred to the European Commission (EC) for final action. The EC’s decision is expected in the next weeks. “At present, half of people living with axSpA fail to adequately respond to treatment, leaving them with years of preventable struggle with persistent pain and other impactful symptoms,” said Daniele D'Ambrosio, Chief Development Officer, Alfasigma. “This
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