Lycra strives to tell bioderived fibres’ story
Fibres developer The Lycra Company launched a media campaign on Earth Day to promote the upcoming release of its bio-derived Lycra fibre made with Qira.
Qira will be made by US company Qore from annually renewable dent corn in Iowa.
Lycra has set a goal to replace up to 30% of its current annual production with the renewable Qira ingredient.
The end goal is to replace 100% of the petroleum derived raw material with bio-based raw material, as Lycra’s vice-president of Europe and South Asia, Alistair Williamson, told WSA magazine.
The new campaign features some of the farmers who are growing the corn. At the heart of the ‘FashionFarmers’ campaign are four video documentaries, covering regenerative agriculture, traceability, multi-generational farming, and collaboration.
Steve Stewart, Lycra's chief brand and innovation officer, said: “Our collaboration with Qore to develop bio-derived Lycra fiber made with Qira is an important part of our sustainability journey.
“We introduced the world’s first commercial bio-derived spandex back in 2014 and now, with Qore as our partner, we’re excited to bring this to market at scale, reducing the carbon emissions of Lycra fibre by up to 44%. This will likewise help our customers lower their carbon footprint.”
Test quantities of bio-derived Lycra fibre are currently available, with larger quantities expected at the start of next year.
