Bio-derived fibers may be the next frontier in sustainably-made textiles. For The LYCRA Company, that means enabling the world’s first large-scale commercial production of bio-derived spandex using QIRA®, which could reduce the fiber’s carbon footprint and simultaneously preserve the so needed stretch that spandex is universally prized for.
QIRA®, a replacement for conventional BDO that improves the fiber’s sustainability profile, is produced by a company called Qore®. Julien Born, CEO of The LYCRA Company, said that its collaboration with Qore® is a big step forward in achieving the brand’s de-carbonization goals.
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Much of The LYCRA Company’s progress has been documented in the first edition of its Planet Agenda Update, a recently published document named for its sustainability framework that was established in 2008. The update also outlines how the firm’s goals align with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals, and its progress thus far in reaching objectives.
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Here, Born talks to Fairchild Studio about the collaboration with Qore®, the state of sustainability in the textiles market, the Planet Agenda Update, and what’s coming up next for The LYCRA Company.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: Tell us about bio-derived LYCRA® fiber. What initiated the development of this product?
Julien Born: At The LYCRA Company, we are committed to significantly reducing our environmental footprint. Toward that end, and to drive even more accountability, we recently signed the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Call-to-Action Commitment Letter confirming our company’s intent to reduce our emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. Commercializing bio-derived LYCRA® fiber on a large scale is a key step in our plan to reduce emissions.
As we looked at how we could reduce our footprint, results from two previous life cycle assessments on LYCRA®fiber showed that its greatest impact – nearly 60 percent – comes from its ingredients. Converting one of the key ingredients from fossil-based resources to a product made from renewable feedstock – in this case, industrial corn – has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of LYCRA® fiber by up to 44 percent, as well as benefiting our customers as they focus on reducing their own product footprints.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: Who is Qore® and what is QIRA®? How did your collaboration with Qore® come about?
J.B.: Qore® is a joint venture between Cargill, a leader in agricultural and fermentation technologies, and Helm, a leading marketer and distributor of chemicals. QIRA® is their brand of a chemical known as BDO. Unlike standard BDO, which is derived from petroleum, QIRA® is derived from field or industrial dent corn, an annually renewable resource. The bio-derived QIRA® BDO will be converted into PTMEG, the key ingredient used in LYCRA® fiber.
Given our iconic LYCRA® brand franchise, global commercial network, spandex technology leadership, and global scale, Qore® approached us about working together. We are especially excited about this collaboration as Qore® shares our vision for driving towards a more sustainable future.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: What differentiates bio-derived LYCRA® fiber from other spandex products in the textiles market?
J.B.: The significant investment that Qore® is making in building a production facility to produce QIRA® will allow us to develop renewable LYCRA® fiber on a large scale, using this renewable ingredient across many garment types. Back in 2014, The LYCRA Company was the first to commercialize a bio-derived spandex.
Thanks to our manufacturing expertise and unique spandex technology, we know from that experience that the performance of the bio-derived LYCRA® fiber will be equivalent to traditional LYCRA® fiber. So, customers will not have to re-engineer their fabrics, patterns or garments. Also, bio-derived LYCRA® fiber with QIRA® has the potential to reduce the fiber’s carbon footprint by up to 44 percent. So, scalability, equivalent performance, and the potential for significant emissions reduction are three things that really set this product apart from the competition.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: The Planet Agenda Update exemplifies a significant commitment to sustainability. Walk us through The LYCRA Company’s progress towards its goals thus far. Are there any achievements in sustainability The LYCRA Company is most proud of?
J.B.: The LYCRA Company’s Planet Agenda platform guides our evolution towards becoming a more sustainable company. The platform touches every aspect of our business, from people to products and processes, to caring for the planet on which we live and work.
Through this framework, we’ve been able to make progress toward a number of our goals. We have converted more than 50 percent of our COOLMAX® and THERMOLITE® fiber production from virgin to recycled content. This is in contrast to the industry average which indicates that recycled polyester represents about 15 percent of the total market.
We have forged a collaboration with HeiQ, a leader in textile and materials innovation, to exclusively distribute HeiQ AeoniQ fiber, a bio-derived cellulosic filament with the potential to be carbon negative. This is an exciting development that can expand our portfolio into the cellulosic arena.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: How would you describe the current state of the textiles market and progress made in prioritizing sustainability across the industry-at-large?
J.B.: There is no doubt heightened interest across the industry and the world has reached an inflection point in the last two years. As we collectively strive to reduce environmental impact, we need to focus on speed and scalability.
While our collaboration with Qore® is one example of the kind of scalable initiatives we need to have in place to help meet the industry’s objectives, we need many more of these. The current situation requires all of us to put sustainability and decarbonization as key priorities in order to protect the future well-being of our planet.
In this new environment, we believe it is more important than ever to have, and to articulate, a clear sustainability roadmap—a bold strategy to guide our business and support our customers and stakeholders.
FAIRCHILD STUDIO: What’s next for The LYCRA Company?
J.B.: Our brand franchises, network of mills and retail partners, and unique innovation capabilities will continue to be at the center of our business model. In a climate where some competitors are increasing their manufacturing footprint and output, we believe we can create more value by focusing our current production capacity on higher value, more sustainable products.
Our vision is to move toward recycled and renewable inputs for our fibers and ensure that those fibers are durable so garments can last longer. And once a garment has reached the end of its life, garments with our fibers should be recyclable. Toward that end, we are working on technologies to enable garments with LYCRA® fiber to be more easily recycled at end of life.