The Lycra Company, in partnership with Qore—a joint venture by Cargill and Helm—has introduced a new bio-derived Lycra fiber made with Qira, developed from U.S. grown corn. This innovative fiber is poised to meet consumer demands for comfort, fit, and stretch while aligning with sustainability goals in the fashion industry.

This new Lycra fiber stems from Lycra’s continuous exploration of non-petrochemical inputs, which started a decade ago. With Qore, Lycra now has a partner to support bio-based material sourcing at scale, addressing previous challenges related to cost and traceability.

According to Lycra CEO Gary Smith, the Qira-based Lycra fiber can achieve a 44% reduction in carbon emissions and fossil fuel dependency. The fiber’s core production process, called "fractionation," involves breaking down corn kernels into components, with a primary feedstock from Qore’s facility constituting around 70% of the microfiber’s content.

Despite challenges with cost at scale, Veldhouse likened this shift to early EV adoption, noting that a slight increase in per-garment cost is outweighed by the environmental benefits and powerful storytelling potential. As Smith announced, full-scale production is set to launch early next year, with some brands already bringing early collections to market.