Hyosung creora® 3D Max Spandex Helps Denim Brands Recycle

Denim is increasingly being required to meet environmental standards as consumers put pressure on brands and retailers to reduce the ecological footprint of jeans
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In response, Hyosung has developed a number of sustainable denim solutions, which the company looks forward to presenting to industry members during Personalized Denim Day events in New York City, Los Angeles and London in November 2021
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creora® 3D Max Spandex – Recyclable Jeans

Circularity is a top consideration, and denim brands and factories are following the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Denim Redesign Guidelines for Recyclable Denim
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The criteria for the Denim Redesign Guidelines aim to create jeans that are more durable and easier to separate and recycle
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One of its guidelines calls for a minimum of 98 percent cellulosic material in denim, with the remaining 2 percent used for elastic or synthetic materials — a challenge for jeans redesign players because consumers are used to for high elasticity and comfort
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Hyosung aims to help denim brands and factories meet program standards through its creora® 3D Max spandex
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Mike Simko, global marketing director at Hyosung Textile, said: "From the beginning, it was clear that they wanted to stretch
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The question is, how does the spandex industry react to achieve sustainability and circularity?"

According to Mike Simko, the industry wants denim to stretch more than 50 percent, with a maximum growth rate of 5 percent
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Just using conventional spandex provides elasticity, but regardless of the percentage of spandex in the material, the recycling rate is not up to par
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To achieve the desired recovery, the typical solution is to blend polyester with spandex to create a dual core that can bounce back more efficiently, however, the increased polyester content means that synthetic yarns make up 12 to 16 percent of the finished garment %, denim could not meet the 98% threshold for jeans redesign
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Hyosung's creora 3D Max offers a solution to achieve a balance of elasticity and recyclability, as it provides high-performance elasticity even as a fraction of the fabric composition
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The yarn replaces the typical polyester core with spandex, resulting in a fully elastic material that retains the recovery properties of the polyester-spandex combination
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Creora® regen spandex - for jeans made from 100% recycled material

To improve the life cycle assessment of spandex, Hyosung developed creora® regen spandex, which is made from 100% recycled waste and has a 67% lower carbon footprint than conventional spandex
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creora® bio-based spandex - for jeans made from renewable resources

Hyosung's creora® bio-based spandex replaces 30% of chemicals with those from dent corn, so it consumes carbon dioxide as the corn grows, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (all recorded in SAC's HIGG index )
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GRS certified 100% recycled multifunctional fiber - for better performance in jeans

Hyosung will also showcase its combination of 100% recycled Mipan® regenerated nylon and regenerated polyester yarns that have versatile properties such as cooling and drying, light weight, cotton touch and comfortable stretch
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