Asahi Kasei’s premium stretch fibre brand Roica made its debut at Functional Fabric Fair Portland on October 27–28, 2026, showcasing textile innovations developed with European and Asian partners. Under the theme ‘Stretch Your Future’, the exhibition at the Oregon Convention Center highlighted stretch fabric applications across outdoor clothing, cycling apparel, innerwear, athleisure and everyday wear.

The European collection featured developments from Borgini Jersey, Brugnoli, Cifra, Penn Solutions, Sitip and Tiba Tricot, including premium athleisure fabrics, ergonomic knitted constructions, seamless garment technologies, technical cycling materials and three-dimensional mesh structures for apparel, accessories and bags.

The showcase included specialised fibres such as Roica EF, which incorporates pre-consumer recycled yarn waste into its raw material inputs and is certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Class I. Roica V550, designed with degradable characteristics, was also featured. The fibre has achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified Material Health Gold Level, although its complete degradation has not been verified.

Other technologies included Roica CF, which integrates odour-neutralising functionality into the yarn to target compounds associated with perspiration and foot odour, and Roica SF, a heat-activated fibre designed to improve dimensional stability, suppress laddering and curling in knitted fabrics, and reduce yarn slippage in lightweight woven materials. These technologies aim to address performance requirements while reducing reliance on certain conventional finishing treatments.

The Portland exhibition highlighted Asahi Kasei’s strategy of combining fibre development with international manufacturing expertise to create specialised textile solutions for performance, lifestyle and everyday apparel.