WILMINGTON, DEL. -- The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing sustainable fibers and solutions for the apparel industry, announced that its CEO, Gary Smith, is a speaker at the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025. He will be joined on stage by Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore®, the maker of QIRA®, a next-generation BDO and a key ingredient in bio-derived LYCRA® fiber, which is launching later this year.

LYCRA® brand and QIRA® are principal sponsors of the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025. The brands are exhibiting at the event, where they will promote bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®, derived from field corn, to help make fashion more sustainable.
LYCRA® brand and QIRA® are principal sponsors of the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025. The brands are exhibiting at the event, where they will promote bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®, derived from field corn, to help make fashion more sustainable.
Smith and Veldhouse will discuss the development of this sustainable fiber made from annually renewable field corn during their Fireside Chat: From Farm to Fashion. Their session takes place on Wednesday, June 4, at 3:35 CEST in the DR Concert Hall. The discussion will be moderated by Amy Nguyen, a researcher, writer, and founder of Sustainable & Social.

This is the first time both companies are participating in the Global Fashion Summit, a premier platform focused on sustainability in the fashion industry. The companies have a prominent exhibit space for attendees to learn more about bio-derived LYCRA® fiber made with QIRA®. Here, visitors can be transported to the Qore® site and cornfields in Iowa through a virtual reality experience.

Bio-derived LYCRA® EcoMade fiber will be the world’s first large-scale, commercially available renewable elastane. It delivers equivalent performance to the original LYCRA® fiber and serves as a one-to-one replacement with no re-engineering of fabrics, processes, or garment patterns required. The product contains 70 percent renewable content and can potentially reduce the carbon footprint of LYCRA® fiber by up to 44 percent*. The LYCRA Company holds patents related to this renewable fiber in several regions including Europe.

“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,” said Gary Smith, CEO of The LYCRA Company. “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.”

The newly constructed Qore® site in Eddyville, Iowa, began operating last month and has started producing QIRA®. The company will host a grand opening celebration in July.

“Starting production at our new state-of-the-art facility marks a major step forward—not just for Qore®, but for the entire industry,” said Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore®. “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.”

*Estimate from Cradle-to-Gate Screening LCA for a representative LYCRA® fiber manufacturing facility, June 2022, prepared by Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc.