A global leader in innovative and sustainable fiber and technology solutions, The Lycra Company outlines its sustainability goals for 2030 besides showcasing latest advancements in sustainability through the ‘The Planet Agenda’ platform at the 63rd Dornbirn World Fiber Congress (GFC) in Austria. The event is being held from Sep 11-13, 2024 at the Kulturhaus in Dornbirn.
On September 11, Jean Hegedus, Director -Sustainable Business Development, The Lycra Company, delivered a joint presentation alongside Andrea Vanderh off, Director - Technology and Sustainability, Qore. Qore is a producer of the next-generation bio-based butanediol (BDO) Qira that is made from non-edible, renewable corn. The presentation focused on the development and commercialisation of the Lycra fiber made with Qira, a breakthrough in sustainable fiber technology.
Bio-derived BDO makes up 70 per cent of the new Lycra fiber, while the remaining 30 per cent comes from fossil-based MDI, which is combined with the bio-derived component to create the final fiber, says Hegedus.
This innovative fiber can be certified by independent bodies for its sustainability claims, ensuring transparency and accountability, adds Hegedus. It offers the same performance as the original Lycra fiber allowing customers to reduce environmental impact without compromising on the quality, he states further.
The bio-derived Lycra fiber made with Qira offers several key benefits. By utilizing corn as a raw material, the fiber preserves finite petroleum resources, using a renewable, annually sustainable alternative. Additionally, this new fiber will be available at a large scale, enabling significant reductions in environmental impact across products using Lycra fibers.
Furthermore, brands and retailers will not need to re-engineer fabrics, patterns, or processes, as the bio-derived Lycra fiber offers equivalent performance to its conventional counterpart. This ensures that manufacturers can adopt the fiber without making significant changes to production methods, making sustainability more accessible and efficient across the textile industry.
In another session, Alberto Ceria, Senior Applications Development Professional, and David Godshall, Senior R&D Scientist, The Lycra Company, demonstrated the company's efforts to develop circular solutions for spandex recycling.
