SEOUL, South Korea and SAN DIEGO, CA — May 1, 2024 — As part of its corporate ESG commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 and supporting the wider textile industry to meet evolving sustainability goals, Hyosung TNC, the world’s largest manufacturer of spandex, has partnered with sustainable materials leader, Geno, to start construction at its plant in Vietnam of facilities to produce BIO BDO derived from sugarcane, commencing Q2 2026.
BDO is the technical name for butanediol, a chemical traditionally made from fossil fuels and a major ingredient in the manufacture of spandex. Through proven plant-based Geno™ BDO technology, which ferments sugars derived from sugarcane to replace the fossil raw materials such as coal, Hyosung can build upon the successful launch of its extensive range of certified regen™ BIO Spandex products already adopted by leading global activewear brands.
Hyosung’s partnership with Geno establishes the world’s first fully integrated manufacturing site for bio-based spandex from renewable raw material to fiber. The project will fast track the production of BIO BDO with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons in the second half of 2026 — with the aim of expanding capacity up to a total of 200,000 tons/year to meet expected industry demands of BIO-based spandex.
“Through this vertical integration from raw material to yarn for regen BIO Spandex, our goal is to increase production efficiency, provide faster response to our customer needs, and integrate value chains to help minimize carbon footprint,” said Sora Yoo, Hyosung chief marketing officer, Textiles. “As a total sustainable textile solutions provider, we are excited about our close collaboration with Geno on our BIO BDO project to pass along significant carbon footprint reductions across the value chain so we can all make an impact towards a better future.”
San Diego, Calif.-based Geno is a biotechnology company of Materials Transition, accelerating the world’s transformation to sustainable materials by replacing fossil fuel resources with plants. Its technology enables greater supply chain resilience, performance, and sustainability impact for many of the world’s largest brands and suppliers. For more than two decades, Geno has been scaling technology to enable the production of sustainable materials derived from plant- or waste-based feedstocks instead of fossil fuels. It has commercialized sustainable alternatives to commonly used ingredients and materials across several industries to include beauty, apparel, automotive and homecare including lululemon, Unilever, Kao, and L’Oréal.
“Geno’s partnership with Hyosung marks a major step forward to accelerate our mission to create supply chains that are responsibly sourced, traceable, and transparent,” said John Gugel, president of Geno. “When our integration is operational, GENO BDO will be driving over five percent of the global market for BDO, following a rapid adoption curve much like we have seen in electric cars and renewables. Hyosung will lead this materials transition by producing more traceable, transparent, and responsibly sourced spandex.”
According to Yoo, there are no differences in the physical properties of regen BIO Spandex compared to spandex made with fossil fuels. Hyosung anticipates up to 80% 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.
Understanding the importance of third-party certification, Hyosung has received ISCC+ international certification, a global sustainability and carbon certification system in 2023 on top of SGS certification, verifying it manufactured BIO-spandex partly using raw materials to replace petroleum-based ingredients.
Hyosung’s investment of $1 billion in its future BIO BDO business underlines its commitment to building ‘a better tomorrow’. The company will continue to supply customers with its existing range of regen BIO Spandex and help them transition to the new product in 2026
Posted: May 1, 2024
Source: Hyosung TNC
