Today materials science company Yulex LLC announced the launch of a new high performance natural rubber material, YULEX2.0. The new material is the result of years of R&D to develop an alternative to neoprene that provides a high degree of stretch. The product has applications across a range of products including wetsuits, sportswear, sports equipment, sports medicine, accessories and footwear.
Project Blank Rituals Series wetsuit, featuring Yulex2.0. Courtesy of Project Blank
Said Yulex founder Jeff Martin “we saw a huge opportunity to increase the performance properties of our Yulex natural rubber, and YULEX2.0 delivers with increased elasticity and stretch. Our new supply chains provide full access to our new YULEX2.0 foams.”
YULEX2.0 is being used by numerous surf and watersport brands around the world. Project Blank, a surf company from Australia, was an early adopter of YULEX2.0 and has received positive feedback from retailers and surfers of the new material’s performance properties. Said Project Blank founder Mitch Avakian “working in partnership with Yulex we committed to switching our wetsuit production away from limestone neoprene to a renewable alternative. In our opinion the current Yulex construction is comparable in performance & warmer than traditional neoprene wetsuits, making them a thing of the past.”
In addition to YULEX2.0, the company is in the final stage of bringing to market YULASTIC, a new material that will initially replace spandex in stretchable denim, elastics and socks. As Yulex CEO Liz Bui states “replacing neoprene with Yulex natural rubber has been the company’s focus for the past 8 years, and then we saw a need for a spandex replacement, so now we are excited to launch our YULASTIC® filaments later this year.”
YULASTIC is being tested by some of the world’s leading brands and will be in the market by late 2024.
