The LYCRA Company and Qore® to Present Bio-Derived Fiber Innovation at Global Fashion Summit 2025
Photo Credit: LYCRA®
WILMINGTON, Del., June 4, 2025 (FASHION BEAUTY SCENE) — Apparel technology company The LYCRA Company has announced that its Chief Executive Officer Gary Smith will speak at the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025. Smith will be joined by Jon Veldhouse, CEO of chemical innovation company Qore®, which produces QIRA®, a key bio-based ingredient in a new LYCRA® fiber set to launch later this year.
The CEOs will participate in a session titled From Farm to Fashion on June 4 at 3:35 CEST in the DR Concert Hall. The conversation will cover the development of bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®, which is derived from annually renewable field corn.
This is the first year that both The LYCRA Company and Qore® are participating in the summit. Their exhibit features a virtual reality experience that takes visitors to the Qore® facility and cornfields in Iowa, where production of QIRA® began last month. Qore® plans to host a grand opening celebration for the new facility in July.
The LYCRA® EcoMade fiber is described by the company as the world’s first large-scale, commercially available renewable elastane. The fiber contains 70 percent renewable content and may reduce the carbon footprint of LYCRA® fiber by up to 44 percent, according to a June 2022 screening life cycle assessment by Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc. The company also stated that the product can be used as a one-to-one replacement without requiring changes to fabric or garment design.
“We’re proud to join the Global Fashion Summit for the first time and showcase how collaboration can accelerate a more sustainable future for fashion. Partnering with Qore® has enabled us to scale innovation that is renewable and ready to meet the demands of global fashion brands striving to meet their sustainability goals,” said Gary Smith, CEO of The LYCRA Company.
“Starting production at our new state-of-the-art facility marks a major step forward—not just for Qore®, but for the entire industry. With QIRA® now being made in Iowa from annually renewable field corn, we’re turning sustainable innovation into reality and helping our partners bring next-generation materials to market,” said Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore®.
For more information, visit www.lycra.com/qira.
Source: The LYCRA Company
