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Any product developer or supply chain executive knows that a sustainable garment is more than the sum of its environmental-friendly ingredients. Companies must also consider the distance between raw material sources and manufacturing plants on carbon emissions, transportation costs and speed to market. The more done on-site, the lower the impact.
These are some of the reasons behind the new vertically integrated, bio-based fiber manufacturing plant in Vietnam from Hyosung—the Seoul, Korea-based textile solutions provider and world’s largest manufacturer of spandex.
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Hyosung—the world’s largest manufacturer of spandex and key supplier of other performance synthetic fibers—had already made great strides in the creation of more sustainable spandex, nylon, and polyester. In 2020, it launched its certified 100 percent recycled regenTM Spandex made from industrial waste. Prior, the Seoul, Korea-based textile solutions provider was the first company to bring recycled nylon made from fishing nets to market in 2007.
As part of Hyosung’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 and help support the wider textile industry with its own evolving sustainability goals, Hyosung recently broke ground on the world’s first fully integrated manufacturing site for Bio-BDO, PTMG and spandex. Hyosung is partnering with Geno to produce Bio-BDO, which is manufactured by fermenting sugars derived from sugarcane, replacing traditional fossil raw materials such as coal. Geno is a U.S.-based sustainable materials and technology leader and licensor of GENO™ BDO technology, commercialized in 2016. Geno’s portfolio of technologies are enabling the commercial scale sustainable production of commonly used ingredients and materials with world-leading brands like lululemon, Unilever, L’Oreal and Kao.
“Hyosung’s billion-dollar investment signals to the market that the $6B/year BDO market is continuing to transition to more sustainable, traceable, and transparent sources. We’re motivated seeing the first (of many) sustainable Hyosung BDO production facilities in Asia, powered by our already proven at scale GENO™ BDO technology,” said John Gugel president of Geno.
Overall, regen™ BIO Spandex offers the benefits of a lower LCA due to reduced transportation, faster speed to market and supply chain resilience as production is integrated in one location. Hyosung anticipates up to 80 percent carbon reduction for its regen™ BIO Spandex products produced in its Vietnam plant by 2026. This number is based on industry data and internal metrics. After the product launch, the company will provide a comprehensive third-party LCA incorporating full data.