The Lycra Company, a developer of sustainable fiber and tech solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, launched an integrated campaign timed with the release of its bio-derived Lycra fiber made with Qira.

This sustainable fiber solution, available in early 2025, is the result of a collaboration with Qore, producer of QIRA, a key ingredient in Lycra fiber. 

Qira will be made from annually renewable dent corn at a plant in Iowa and used to make bio-derived Lycra fiber at scale, with The Lycra Company “setting a goal to replace up to 30 percent of its annual production with the renewable Qira ingredient.”

The campaign will inform the active outdoor industry of the advantages of using dent corn as a feedstock for apparel, featuring Iowa farmers growing the corn to create the next-gen of Lycra fiber. 

At the heart of the “FashionFarmers” campaign are four video documentaries covering various aspects of farming and their relevance to apparel: Regenerative Agriculture, Traceability, Multi-Generational Farming, and Collaboration.

“This partnership with Lycra and Qira lives at the core of the Fairchild brand mission: delivering purposeful content to the fashion industry that will drive businesses forward,” said Amanda Smith, president of FMG. “We are thrilled to be using our global platform to collaborate with the Lycra and Qira brands to tell this innovation story and to be able to showcase the impact this fiber technology will have on the future of the industry as a whole.”

“Our collaboration with Qore to develop bio-derived Lycra fiber made with Qira is an important part of our sustainability journey,” said Steve Stewart, The Lycra company’s chief brand and innovation officer. “We introduced the world’s first commercial bio-derived spandex 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 fiber by up to 44 percent*; this will likewise help our customers lower their carbon footprint.”

The sustainable solution “will also deliver equivalent performance, eliminating the need for significant production changes or re-engineering of fabrics or patterns,” said Lycra.

“We are excited to introduce the apparel industry to some of the farmers growing corn to help make fashion more sustainable,” said Jon Veldhouse, CEO of Qore, LLC. “This campaign highlights their roles as stewards of the land and reveals their passion for driving positive impact in their communities.”

*Estimate from cradle-to-gate screening LCA for a representative Lycra fiber manufacturing facility, June 2022, prepared by Ramboll U.S. Consulting, Inc.

Image courtesy Lycra