Senken Shimbun, a Japanese daily fashion newspaper, has awarded Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei the 2021 Synthetic Fibre Prize for its ROICA™ V550 fiber.

Roica V550 is a notable advancement, having earned a Gold Material Health Certificate from the Cradle-to-Cradle Product Innovation Institute, as well as a Hohenstein Environment Compatibility Certification, demonstrating that it can degrade without leaking toxic compounds into the environment at the end of its useful life.

While the advantages of stretch in clothing are undeniable, it is said that only 1% of elastane fiber in an otherwise all-cotton t-shirt is actually enough to cause it to be discarded at the recycling sorting facility.

Roica V550 is part of Asahi Kasei's Eco-Smart family of stretch yarns, which also includes Roica RF, which was the first to receive GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification and is made up of 50% pre-consumer recycled material. Roica RF was first introduced in 2018 and has previously won the Senken Shimbun prize.