Sustainable Performance Fiber Solution Attracts Swimwear Brands
South Korea-based Hyosung is heating up for summer with its sustainable solutions that have popularized on the fiber front — and its take on sustainability takes form in recyclability and longevity.
Its most recent adopters are swimwear brands O’Neill, which developed a line of women’s swimwear made with Hyosung’s Mipan regen nylon as part of its new O’Neill Blue sustainable collection, and Daze Dayz, a Korean-based brand well-known for its ’70s-inspired retro style with a modern look and feel, which developed an “extensive” swimwear line made with Hyosung’s regen polyester, created from recycled bottles.
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Hyosung’s 100 percent recycled Mipan regen nylon and regen polyester is made from reclaimed waste, and both fibers are recognized and certified by the Global Recycled Standard of the Control Union in the Netherlands, and lauded for their energy-saving benefits and saving of valuable natural resources.
Mike Simko, global marketing director Hyosung, textiles, said: “We are experiencing tremendous interest in our 100 percent recycled, GRS-certified Mipan regen nylon and regen polyester; and we’ve made significant investments to increase our capacity to meet demand.”
The firm also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Busan metropolitan government and a social venture, Netspa, to produce eco-friendly nylon by recycling abandoned fishing nets, a partnership formed to “reduce the pollution of marine ecosystems caused by these nets and to also increase awareness of marine environment protection,” all according to Hyosung.
Photo courtesy of Hyosung
It will also invest in the development and commercialization of the material derived from fishing nets, which it will call “Mipan Regen Ocean,” later this year.
And swimwear brands such as Speedo, Sloggi, Next and Panache have continuously used Hyosung’s flagship fiber, Creora spandex, as a key ingredient in their collections due to its long-lasting durability — and to date, Creora spandex is the world’s largest spandex brand, “supplying the broadest range of stretch fiber offerings” supported by technology and quality, the firm said.
Its Creora spandex offerings include Creora HighClo spandex, which is designed to overcome spandex’s vulnerability to chlorine damage. It improves swimwear fabric durability by delivering an enduring fit, as well as shape retention.
Creora Power Fit spandex is engineered to provide superior shaping and compression, the firm said; it is chlorine- and bleach-resistant and allows for saturated color in blends with polyester. Finally, the Creora color and spandex enables deep, vivid, and long-lasting color in blends with nylon, Hyosung added.
Simko said, “Sustainability, in the form of either recycled materials or fibers to help materials last longer, has opened up an entire world of opportunity to innovate — and bring value to the industry and newness to the consumer.”
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