PIONEERING PARTNERS
Ekoten Textile and The LYCRA Company drive innovation in high-end activewear, workwear, and fashion textile markets worldwide
10月 28, 2025
Today it’s a buttery soft hand feel with responsive stretch; tomorrow it’s military-grade performance that feels like ready-to-wear. At Ekoten Textile, a versatile Turkish fabric maker, innovation is at the core of each of the more than 100 fabrics produced by the mill every month. Here at The LYCRA Company, we’re proud to be a close partner and collaborator, bringing enhanced comfort, fit, and performance to Ekoten’s offerings.
EKOTEN’S FABRICS + THE LYCRA COMPANY'S FIBERS
This high-end fabric producer, one of the largest knitters in Europe, is constantly innovating in the active, sports, workwear, and fashion spaces, choosing the best in textile technology to enhance its collections and using KARL MAYER technology to craft them.
To develop its next-gen fabrics, Ekoten has a dedicated technical and design team tasked with closely following industry developments. This team undertakes research into yarns, gains insights from customer requests, and conducts regular field visits to stay ahead of leading sports/athleisure and fashion trends.
For more than a decade, Ekoten’s R&D engineers have partnered with The LYCRA Company’s fiber experts to find the right solutions to consumer pain points. We’ve collaborated on a wide range of specialty fabrics: For example, we partnered on a fabric for a European military with COOLMAX® freshFX® EcoMade fiber for cooling and freshness. And for the European market, we co-created high-performance sportswear fabrics with LYCRA® T400® fiber, our all-in-one stretch and cooling solution. The list goes on.
ADAPTIVE COMFORT
Recently, our partnership landed Ekoten fabrics on the shelves of a major US retailer, in leggings and other activewear. The fabrics and garments are upgraded with LYCRA® ADAPTIV fiber, our specialty spandex that delivers a second-skin fit in motion and the right fit and support at rest, along with an easier on-and-off experience and truly inclusive sizing for every body.
Like The LYCRA Company, Ekoten is committed to making the textile industry more sustainable. To reduce its environmental impact, the company uses solar energy to power its knitting facility, 3D digital design programs to bring its designs to life without wasting resources, cold pad batch dyeing to reduce resource consumption, and more. Ekoten currently holds a range of third-party sustainability certifications, including ISO certifications, Higg FEM certification, Global Organic Textile Standard, OEKO-TEX® certifications, USCTP certification, and others. Plus, Ekoten prizes women in leadership — the company boasts 46% women in management roles.
Get up close with Ekoten’s fabrics at Performance Days in Munich, October 29-30, and Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon, November 12-13. The LYCRA Company will be on site at both events, too — come visit us to dream up your next project.
COLLABORATING WITH LYCRA® LABS
The LYCRA Company’s textile experts are available to partner with innovative mills and brands seeking the best fiber solutions. Around the world, our LYCRA® LABS team helps refine and develop fibers to meet the demands of today’s consumers so brands can deliver the ultimate wear experience.
When textile pioneers come together, there are no limits.