As sustainability legislation gained momentum worldwide, top apparel industry leaders convened at the Global Fashion Summit – the leading forum for sustainability in fashion – which took place in Copenhagen from June 3 to 5. Hyosung, the world’s leading manufacturer of elastane by market share, made its debut as an official exhibitor at the Summit, presenting its innovative textile solutions developed to help shape fashion’s sustainable future.
The company highlighted its expanded regen™ BIO Elastane range, made with varying amounts of renewable content, which was gaining traction among luxury fashion brands and retailers seeking sustainable stretch solutions to blend with natural fibres such as organic cotton, merino wool, cashmere, and silk.
Hyosung’s third party-certified regen™ BIO+ Elastane and regen™ BIO Max Elastane replace some of the traditional fibre inputs with high content of renewable resources – significantly reducing reliance on fossil fuels and helping to minimize environmental impact – while delivering the same elasticity, recovery, and durability as conventional elastane.
“As a total sustainable solution provider, Hyosung offers tailored solutions aligned with brands’ and retailers’ sustainability strategies and preferences,” said Simon Whitmarsh-Knight, Hyosung Global Sustainability Director – Textiles. “Since every brand takes a unique approach to sustainability, we support flexible adoptions of various option, such as regen™ BIO+ or BIO Max, according to their specific goals. We are delighted to see increasing adoptions of our regen™ BIO elastane as our brand and retail customers see the benefit of adding it as a renewable stretch engine to blend with both natural and synthetic fibres.”
As part of its corporate ESG commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, Hyosung has started work on a new 50,000-ton Bio-BDO (Butanediol) – the major ingredient in the manufacture of elastane – facility at its Vietnam plants, with plans to expand to 200,000 tons annually. This will utilize Geno’s proven plant-based Geno™ BDO™ technology, which ferments sugars derived from sugarcane to replace the fossil raw materials. It will be the world’s first integrated elastane manufacturing plant, streamlining production in the same region, improving efficiency, and reducing carbon footprint.
At the Summit, Hyosung will also present its 100% recycled functional elastane, nylon, and polyester fibre technologies in addition to circular polyester made from end-of-life textiles, further advancing its efforts to create a circular textile ecosystem.
The 2025 theme for the Global Fashion Summit is Barriers and Bridges where traditional barriers have the possibility to transform bridges for tangible change. With new legislation accelerating, the boundaries between voluntary and mandatory efforts are blurring, demanding both courage and capital to seize this moment of opportunity. Viewed through the lens of collective action, the Global Fashion Summit programme will take on impact centric topics related to social and environmental challenges, merging barriers and bridges in unexpected and new ways.
As sustainability legislation gained momentum worldwide, top apparel industry leaders convened at the Global Fashion Summit – the leading forum for sustainability in fashion – which took place in Copenhagen from June 3 to 5. Hyosung, the world’s leading manufacturer of elastane by market share, made its debut as an official exhibitor at the Summit, presenting its innovative textile solutions developed to help shape fashion’s sustainable future.
