BASF Grants End-Partner Hanjiang and Others the Right to Use the PolyTHF Inside® Brand

Zhou Qin, Senior Director of BASF's Intermediates division in China (left), and Zhang Weijun,

Chairman of Hanjiang Sports (right), sign the licensing agreement. (Image source: Hanjiang Sports)

With the hosting of events like the National Games Marathon igniting a nationwide sports fervor, competition on the field is intense, and professional sports gear can equally influence performance. To help users push their limits and ensure safety in sports, BASF's Intermediates division recently signed a licensing agreement with Hangzhou Hanjiang Sports Technology Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese brand of functional sports socks. The Hanjiang brand will use BASF's comfortable materials bearing the patented PolyTHF Inside®* brand in categories like functional sports socks and compression sports socks.

Image source: Hanjiang Sports

At the licensing ceremony, BASF also introduced product applications in the shoe insole field and shared a certified product carbon footprint calculation method. Xinghui Chemical Fiber Group Co., Ltd., a shared partner in the industrial chain, also witnessed the ceremony. Xinghui's business involves chemical fiber production, apparel fabrics, and chemical manufacturing. Its subsidiary, Hangzhou Banglian Spandex Co., Ltd., is currently BASF's sole spandex production partner for the PolyTHF Inside brand in China. Together, they have developed a series of differentiated spandex products that have received widespread market acclaim.

Additionally, BASF has granted the PolyTHF Inside trademark usage rights to three other functional casual sock brands in the Chinese market, including Jilin Luren Socks Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Baodiya Textile Co., Ltd., and Liaoyuan Shouzutang Socks Co., Ltd.

BASF Polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF®)
Attracts customers with its "charms" such as elasticity, durability, and comfort. PolyTHF is a key raw material for producing spandex elastic fibers, widely used in textiles like swimwear, sportswear, underwear, shirts, and stretch jeans. Elastic fibers maintain long-lasting wearing comfort while also offering moisture resistance and antibacterial properties.

Zhou Qin, Senior Director of BASF's Intermediates division in China, stated: "The PolyTHF Inside brand represents not only quality but also BASF's efforts in innovation and staying close to consumer needs. We are pleased to extend our cooperation from upstream fabric suppliers like Banglian to downstream brands such as Hanjiang, Luren, Baodiya, and Shouzutang, jointly injecting new vitality into China's textile industry and bringing higher value-added products to consumers."

Dr. Thomas Ingram, Director of Diols & Derivatives, Intermediates Asia Pacific at BASF, said: "Casual and sportswear are driving growth in downstream demand, with casual wear and socks particularly driving demand for spandex. Under this trend, the market generally expects the spandex industry to recover. As a global leading PolyTHF supplier, BASF, with its three intra-regional production sites in Shanghai Caojing, China, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Geismar, USA, consistently provides customers with high-quality, stable, and reliable supply."

Zhang Weijun, Chairman of Hanjiang Sports, said: "Hanjiang Sports has long been committed to the segmented field of categorized sports socks, successfully developing 35 types of professional sports socks for Olympic and non-Olympic sports. The Hanjiang brand aims to become the world's leading sports sock brand. We look forward to in-depth cooperation with BASF, continuously seeking breakthroughs in product performance through technological materials and innovative design, pursuing a product philosophy that interprets technological life with ultimate experience, aiming to provide functional, equipment-grade professional sports socks for sports enthusiasts."

BASF Intermediates team photo with Hanjiang Sports and Xinghui teams

To become the preferred partner for sustainable intermediates, BASF's Intermediates division offers sustainable PolyTHF solutions:

PolyTHF Ccycled® (using the ChemCycling® approach)

Uses sustainably certified, chemically recycled plastic waste feedstock, 100% replacing fossil feedstock.
Contributes to saving limited fossil resources.
A drop-in solution: identical in quality and composition compared to standard PolyTHF.
Manufactured using a certified mass balance approach.
PolyTHF BMBcert® (using a biomass balance method)

Uses renewable feedstocks like biomethane, 100% replacing fossil feedstock.
Contributes to carbon emission reduction.
A drop-in solution: identical in quality and composition compared to standard PolyTHF.
Manufactured using a certified mass balance approach.