Stretch it any way you want it!

Spandex, known in Europe as elastane, brings elasticity to clothing. Typical applications are hosiery, tights, sportswear and outdoor fashion. Spandex is also often used for the manufacture of shirts. In these cases, the elastic fiber ensures better form stability, less tendency to wrinkle, longer durability and much greater wearing comfort. In addition, the textile’s increased elasticity makes it easier to find comfortable and perfectly fitting clothing for different body types - even outside the usual standard.

Due to its “comfortable” characteristics, the demand for spandex in the global apparel market has been increasing since a couple of years and spandex enters new applications – not only swim- and sportswear use the elastic properties, also “strechy” jeans get more and more popular latelyA market report by the Global Spandex Industry forecasts annual demand growth of around nine percent through 2027. China is the leading global producer; other key production regions include India, Pakistan and Brazil.

50 years ago, in 1972, Australian company Speedo became the first company to use spandex in swimsuits at the Olympic Games: 21 out of 22 world records in the swimming competitions at the Olympic Park Munich, Germany, were set by athletes wearing Speedo swimsuits, including the legendary U.S. superstar Mark Spitz.

Spandex is a polyurethane elastomer, usually made from MDI-based products (aromatic diisocyanate). But many consumers know the problem with it over time is the textile fades or yellowing occurs. Due to its innovative expertise  in isophorone chemistry, Evonik's Crosslinkers business line has developed an additive particularly suitable for the manufacturing of elastomers, which improves the light stability and color fastness of the fibers. VESTANAT^® H₁₂MDI is the perfect choice for the production of color-fast and anti-yellowing spandex-based textiles. 

Crosslinkers - Creating Marketable and Intelligent Solutions

Since 1962, Evonik is a pioneer and reliable partner for its customers and their needs all over the word in the field of isophorone chemistry. Today, 60 years later, Evonik is represented worldwide by its innovative isophorone-based VESTA brand family. Applications range from coatings and adhesives to civil engineering, high-performance elastomers and composites. Evonik is now going even further by being the first company in the world to create a sustainable isophorone string in order to take a pole position in climate protection and to help customers to improve their carbon footprint.

VESTANAT^® H₁₂MDI provides color fastness and anti-yellowing for elastomers.