Hyosung TNC (Hyosung), the global leader in elastane by market share, has won three awards: the Innovation, Environmental, and Investments categories in the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards for its integrated approach across biotechnology, manufacturing, and capital deployment.
The company won the Innovation award for pioneering bio-based elastane using sugarcane-derived inputs and integrated production. It won the Environmental award for a strategy aimed at significantly reducing the carbon footprint of elastane production through feedstock choice and regionalized operations. The Investments award recognizes Hyosung’s major capital program in Vietnam to build sustainable infrastructure that supports a transition to renewable intermediates.
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Innovation: Bio-based elastane using sugarcane-derived bio-BDO
Hyosung has advanced bio-based elastane toward industrial-scale production by being the first to use sugarcane-derived bio-BDO as the core intermediate for its regen™ BIO elastane. This shift addresses the highest-emitting stage of elastane production—the raw materials—by replacing fossil fuel-based BDO with a plant-based equivalent produced via fermentation. The company’s partnership with Geno is central to this progress: Geno’s biotechnology ferments sugars from sugarcane to produce bio-BDO, offering a drop-in intermediate compatible with established elastane processes while reducing reliance on fossil inputs.
Crucially, Hyosung is not treating bio-based elastane as a bolt-on specialty line. It is establishing what it describes as the world’s first fully integrated site that converts renewable feedstock into spandex fiber within one manufacturing ecosystem in Vietnam. By bringing raw material production and fiber spinning into the same regional hub, the company can shorten development cycles, reduce complexity between process steps, and scale capacity more predictably. For brands and mills, that translates into reduced lead times and clearer alignment between material availability and seasonal calendars.
Performance assurance is another pillar of the innovation case. The bio-based elastane offers comparable durability and performance to standard elastane—an important consideration for segments like activewear, intimates, denim, and swimwear where stretch recovery is critical. To underpin claims with verifiable data, Hyosung has pursued third-party certifications and transparency for bio-based content, referencing programs such as SGS EEPS and ASTM D6866 testing. This transparency enables brand partners to communicate inputs with confidence through to consumer-facing claims.
The company is also designing the bio-BDO platform with cross-industry utility in mind. Beyond apparel, Hyosung indicates the material will feed into footwear, packaging, and automotive applications. This broader scope increases potential production volumes, supports faster learning curves, and strengthens the business case for continued process improvements in biotechnology and fiber manufacturing.
Carbon reduction through regionalized, bio-based production
Hyosung’s carbon reduction strategy targets the stages where it can deliver system-level impact. First, it addresses the raw material stage, accounting for the majority of emissions in conventional spandex production. Selecting sugarcane as the feedstock reduces processing steps compared with alternatives like corn, which require conversion from starch to glucose before fermentation. Fewer steps generally mean less energy use and lower associated emissions.
Second, Hyosung is co-locating bio-BDO and elastane production within the same region in Vietnam. This regional integration reduces transport distances between raw materials and fiber production, which can be a meaningful contributor to scope 3 emissions in global supply chains. It also simplifies logistics, helping mills and brands secure supply with fewer handoffs and less variability in lead times.
Hyosung anticipates up to a 55% reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional elastane, supported by additional reductions in water use during production. Importantly, the company has committed to a full Life Cycle Assessment once the plant is operational to quantify and communicate the environmental benefits. This step is consistent with its stated alignment to global standards and third-party certifications, which is essential for comparability and credibility across brands and regions.
The environmental approach is practical as well as strategic. By vertically integrating and localizing production, Hyosung can incorporate efficiency gains directly into operations while cutting transport-related emissions. The company’s focus on traceability and certification frameworks further supports continuous improvement by establishing baselines and enabling independent verification over time.
Billion-dollar investment in Vietnam infrastructure for sugarcane-based bio-BDO
In 2024, Hyosung announced an investment of approximately $1 billion to build and upgrade manufacturing infrastructure in Vietnam dedicated to sustainable, bio-based elastane production. This is a pivotal move for an organization that is already the world’s largest purchaser of BDO. By incorporating licensed biotechnology to convert sugarcane into bio-BDO, the company is positioning itself to transition a significant share of elastane production away from fossil fuel-based inputs as early as 2026.
The investment is structured around clear milestones: plant upgrades in Q3–Q4 2025, bio-BDO production beginning in Q1 2026, biobased elastane production in Q2 2026, with apparel using this elastane expected in stores from 2027. This timeline signals execution discipline and allows supply chain partners—mills, vendors, and brands—to plan fiber development, testing, and commercialization in step with material availability.
Strategically, the capital program dovetails with Hyosung’s corporate goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It also reinforces supply chain resilience by expanding local manufacturing capabilities in Vietnam, which can help stabilize supply, shorten lead times, and support regional economic development. Because Hyosung supplies a wide range of segments—from ready-to-wear and denim to activewear and intimates—shifting its elastane input chemistry at scale can have knock-on benefits across multiple product categories.
Finally, the investment underwrites the broader material transition beyond apparel. With bio-BDO intended for use in footwear, packaging, and automotive sectors, the infrastructure commitment has the potential to influence upstream markets and catalyze adoption of renewable intermediates across adjacent industries. This cross-sector relevance strengthens the case for recognizing the company’s capital allocation as sustainable infrastructure, not just capacity expansion.
“We are very proud that our regen™ BIO Elastane is recognized as a triple-category award winner in the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards! These prestigious awards validate our corporate goal for investing in, and developing this innovative fiber. Together with other investments in pioneering textile technologies, we are supporting the industry’s move to more circular business models and our corporate goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.“
Simon Whitmarsh-Knight, Global Sustainability Director, Textiles, at Hyosung TNC
Company Profile
Hyosung TNC is a complete sustainable textile solutions provider that produces world-class products, providing continuous innovation to the textile industry. Hyosung is the world’s largest manufacturer of elastane by market share supplying the broadest range of stretch fiber offerings supported by exceptional technology and quality under its CREORA® and regen™ brands. Hyosung TNC’s specialty nylon and polyester provide functional and sustainable fiber solutions that are essential to today’s dynamic textile market. Hyosung TNC is a proud Textile Exchange Partner-level Member. Visit our website, and our blog at blog.hyosungtnc.com for all the latest trend, event, and product updates. Hyosung TNC can also be found on Instagram @hyosung_textiles and on LinkedIn at Hyosung Performance Textiles.
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Website: https://hyosungtextile.com/en
