No Ordinary Cloth: At the intersection of textiles, emerging tech, craft and sustainability
Claim This Podcastby Mili Tharakan
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Podcast Overview
<p>Textiles matter! It is the most ubiquitous and powerful material we live with - it has the power to fulfil both our senses and our soul. </p><p>Textile innovation is shaping the future of materials, manufacturing, and the products we use every day, with sustainability and circularity driving a radical revolution.</p><p>Most conversations about the textile industry focus on fashion trends, finished products, or sustainability claims. Others focus on breakthrough technologies without explaining how they move from laboratory experiments to real-world adoption.</p><p>The most important shifts happen further upstream: where researchers, designers, material scientists, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and innovators are creating the future materials that will define the next generation of textiles.</p><p>That's what No Ordinary Cloth explores.</p><p>Host Mili Tharakan, a smart textiles innovator and researcher, unpacks textile material and manufacturing innovations from idea to market adoption, through her conversations with pioneers and global experts radically transforming the textile industry around the world. </p><p>Through these in-depth conversations, you'll explore emerging textile technology, textile engineering breakthroughs, sustainable textiles, biomaterials, next gen materials, textile manufacturing innovation, circular systems, smart textiles, materials commercialisation, and the future of textile manufacturing.</p><p>From biodegradable textiles and bio based fibres to digital transformation, advanced technical textiles, responsible sourcing, and industry-wide transformation, each episode explores how innovation moves from idea to impact.</p><p>If you're interested in textile innovation, future materials, sustainable textiles, fashion, and the people building the future fabric of our world, this show will help you understand where the industry is heading and why it matters.</p><p>This show brings alive the myriad facets of the complex world of Textiles - a world where there are no ordinary cloths and fabrics have the power to change us and our world.</p><p>Popular Episode Topics Include: Textile Innovation, Future Materials, Sustainable Textiles, Fashion, Biomaterials, Next Gen Materials, Textile Engineering, Emerging Textile Technology, Smart Textiles, Advanced Textiles, Technical Textiles, Textile R&D, Textile Manufacturing Technology, Future Fabric, Circular Fashion, Textile Recycling, Regenerative Materials, Supply Chain Transparency, Digital Product Passports, Materials Commercialisation, Textile Industry Transformation. </p><p>Listen and be inspired, find new connections and create extraordinary textiles...</p><p><strong>Connect with Mili Tharakan: </strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjtharakan/">Linkedin</a> I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/noordinarycloth/">Instagram</a> I <a href="https://www.noordinarycloth.com/">Website</a></p><p>Email: mili@militharakan.com</p><p>Your support means the world to me, if you enjoyed this podcast why not consider <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/noordinarycloth">buying me a coffee</a></p><p><strong>Credits</strong></p><p>Cover art: Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash</p><p>Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/9/2023
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Recent Episodes
May 15, 2026
Ep 34. From Wetlands to Wardrobes: What If Fashion Could Help Heal the Planet? with Julian Ellis-Brown
In this episode, we step into very different territory. We leave the factory floor and the chemistry lab behind, pull on our wellies, and head into the wetlands. Our guest is Julian Ellis-Brown, CEO and Co-founder of Ponda [https://www.ponda.bio/] — the biomaterials company turning wetland restoration into one of fashion's most exciting new fibres. We explore why wetlands are one of the most carbon-rich and biodiverse ecosystems on earth, why centuries of drainage have turned them from the planet's greatest carbon store into a significant carbon emitter, and how a farming practice called paludiculture is now allowing farmers across the UK and Europe to bring degraded wetlands back to life — while still earning a living from the land. At the heart of Ponda's work is BioPuff — a plant-based insulation made from the seed fibres of the bulrush, designed to replace the goose down and synthetic polyester fills found in the puffer jackets and winter coats hanging in most of our wardrobes. Down raises animal welfare and traceability concerns, while synthetic fills are fossil-fuel derived — and BioPuff offers a genuinely carbon-negative alternative, traceable from plant to puffer, and landing in jackets on the market this autumn winter. Julian also shares details of Ponda's newly opened crowdfunding round — a rare opportunity to invest directly in a company regenerating real wetlands and reshaping one of fashion's most overlooked material categories. What We Cover * Why wetlands matter - Wetlands store 550 gigatons of carbon * Paludiculture — the farming model you've never heard of, and why governments across Europe are now backing it with billions * BioPuff — the plant-based insulation made from bulrush, grown on regenerated wetlands, that is set to land in jackets on the market this autumn * The carbon story — how BioPuff achieves a carbon footprint of -42.76 kg of CO2e per kilogram of product, making it genuinely carbon negative * From pilot plant to fashion runways — how Ponda went from a university challenge competition to collaborations with Stella McCartney, Berghaus and Parley for the Oceans * The crowdfunding round — why Ponda is inviting the public to invest in their mission, and how you can get involved * Julian's personal story — the moment curiosity about nature became a company, and what keeps him going About our guest: Julian Ellis-Brown is the CEO and Co-founder of Ponda, formerly known as Saltyco. Julian studied Innovation Design Engineering at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, where he and his three co-founders began developing what would become BioPuff. Ponda closed a $2.4 million seed round in 2025 and is now commercialising BioPuff for the global fashion market. Ponda: Website [https://www.ponda.bio/] I Insta [https://www.instagram.com/ponda.bio/] I BioPuff sample [https://shop.ponda.bio/] Crowdfunding round — register your interest [https://europe.republic.com/ponda/coming-soon] Mili Tharakan: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjtharakan/] I Insta [https://www.instagram.com/noordinarycloth/] I Buy me a coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarycloth] Subscribe and leave a review, I love to hear your feedback. Recommended listening: Ep 29. Cotton, Soil & Solar: Re-imagining the "Quiet King" of Textiles Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
May 11, 2026
Ep 33. Part 3 I Clean Run: Detoxifying the Running Jacket I Care, Repair and Recycle with Charlotte Krist, Shay Sethi and Wajahat Hussain
We're used to thinking about sustainability at the point of purchase: what fibres a garment is made from, whether it's certified or recycled. But the truth is, what we do with a garment after we buy it – how we wash it, whether we repair it, and what happens when it's finally worn out – is just as important as what it's made of. In this final episode of Clean Run, host Mili Tharakan takes our now‑familiar running jacket into the rest of its life. We've already rebuilt its fibres and detoxed its chemistry. Now we follow it into washing machines, repair studios and recycling plants to see what it really takes for a jacket to have not just one life, but many. Guests: * Charlotte Krist, Strategic Business Development, United Repair Centre [https://www.unitedrepaircentre.com/]: building industrial‑scale, brand‑integrated repair services that extend the physical and emotional life of garments, and make "repair is the new cool" a real consumer option, not just a slogan. * Shay Sethi, CEO and Founder, Ambercycle [https://www.ambercycle.com/]: developing molecular recycling technologies that separate complex fibre blends at the base‑molecule level and regenerate polyester into new, high‑quality yarns – creating a genuine end‑of‑life pathway for garments that are currently landfilled or burned. * Wajahat Hussain, CEO and Fuunder, BIORESTORE [https://www.bio-restore.com/]: turning a single laundry cycle into a way to resurface worn fabrics, remove pilling and restore colour and hand‑feel, so garments look and feel almost new. In this episode you'll learn: * How BIORESTORE's enzyme‑based treatment can "exfoliate" damaged fibres, remove pilling and revive colour and softness in a single wash, effectively resetting certain signs of wear. * How high‑quality repair, delivered at scale by United Repair Centre, can extend both the physical life and the emotional value of garments, turning damage into part of a garment's story rather than its end. * How Ambercycle's molecular regeneration process separates and depolymerises polyester from mixed‑fibre garments to create new, high‑quality feedstock that can replace virgin polyester. * What a realistic circular journey for a running jacket could look like when better care, repair and recycling infrastructures work together – and why design and collection systems are just as critical as breakthrough technology. Across all three episodes, Clean Run turns an ordinary running jacket into a closed looped narrative – from the moment its fibres are imagined to the moment they are reborn – and invites us to see that, with the right choices, every garment we wear can be part of a story that never really ends. The Clean Run series is inspired by the Performance Without Toxicity [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/performance-without-toxicity-exhibition-tickets-1976742709657] exhibition, curated by The Mills Fabrica [https://www.themillsfabrica.com/] in partnership with Goldwin [https://www.goldwin-global.com/eu/], open until 26th June 2026 at Fabrica X in London. Entry is free. Clean Run is a three-part series. Part 1 explores fibres and fabric and Part 2 dives into the dyes, coatings, and construction of the running jacket. Connect with me: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjtharakan/] I Insta [https://www.instagram.com/noordinarycloth/] I Buy me a coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarycloth] Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
April 23, 2026
Ep 32. Clean Run: Detoxing the Running Jacket I Part 2 - Dye, Finish and Construction with Jean Francoise Benoit, Jun Kamei and Matthais Feossel
We tend to think a running jacket performs because of its fabric. In reality, much of what we experience – the colour, the way water beads on the surface, how quickly it dries – comes from an invisible layer of chemistry added after the fabric is made. Those dyes, coatings and finishes are where some of the most persistent and problematic substances in performance wear quietly sit. In this second episode of Clean Run, host Mili Tharakan takes the same high street running jacket from Episode 1 and goes one layer deeper – beyond fibres into finishing and construction. She asks: can we rebuild this jacket without toxic chemistry, and design it so that its end of life is already built in? To answer that, Mili is joined by three guests who are each tackling a different "invisible" part of the jacket Guests: * Jean François Benoit, Development Engineer, Resortecs [https://resortecs.com/] – inventing Smart Stitch (heat‑dissolvable sewing threads) and Smart Disassembly (industrial ovens that unpick garments at end of life), so complex multi‑material products can be taken apart automatically and sent to the right recyclers. * Jun Kamei, Founder & CEO, Amphico [https://www.amphico.uk/] – developing Amphicolour, a near‑waterless colouration system that embeds pigment at the yarn stage, and Amphitex, a PFAS‑free waterproof, breathable membrane based on polyolefins, designed to be recyclable. * Matthias Foessel, Founder & CEO, Beyond Surface Technologies [https://www.beyondst.com/] – creating high‑performance textile finishes under the miDori brand, using bio‑based oils and waxes such as microalgae instead of petrochemicals, and replacing PFAS‑based DWR with palm‑oil‑free green chemistry that runs on existing mill equipment. In this episode: * The hidden environmental cost of conventional textile dyeing and why it drives emissions and water pollution. How dope‑dyed yarns and colour‑mixing at weave stage can cut water, energy and CO₂ dramatically * What PFAS "forever chemicals" are, why they're used in outdoor fabrics, and why they're a problem. * Emerging PFAS‑free waterproof membranes and the challenges of scaling * The role of textile finishes in performance – and their reliance on petrochemical chemistry * How bio‑based finishes from sources like microalgae can match conventional performance * Why sewing thread blocks garment recycling and what smart disassembly can change * How Smart Stitch enables clean separation of complex garments into recyclable material streams * The cost, procurement and policy barriers slowing adoption of these innovative solutions The Clean Run series is inspired by the Performance Without Toxicity [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/performance-without-toxicity-exhibition-tickets-1976742694612?keep_tld=true] exhibition, curated by The Mills Fabrica [https://www.themillsfabrica.com/] in partnership with Goldwin [https://www.goldwin-global.com/uk/], open until 26th June 2026 at Fabrica X in London. Entry is free. Clean Run is a three-part series. Part 2 explores the hidden chemistry and construction of the jacket, Part 3 will explore innovations in care, repair and end of life of the jacket. Hit subscribe to be notified of next episode Connect with Mili Tharakan: Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjtharakan/] I Insta [https://www.instagram.com/noordinarycloth/] I Buy me a coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarycloth] Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash. Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestrama
36 total episodes available
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- What is No Ordinary Cloth: At the intersection of textiles, emerging tech, craft and sustainability?
<p>Textiles matter! It is the most ubiquitous and powerful material we live with - it has the power to fulfil both our senses and our soul. </p><p>Textile innovation is shaping the future of materials, manufacturing, and the products we use every day, with sustainability and circularity driving a radical revolution.</p><p>Most conversations about the textile industry focus on fashion trends, finished products, or sustainability claims. Others focus on breakthrough technologies without explaining how they move from laboratory experiments to real-world adoption.</p><p>The most important shifts happen further upstream: where researchers, designers, material scientists, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and innovators are creating the future materials that will define the next generation of textiles.</p><p>That's what No Ordinary Cloth explores.</p><p>Host Mili Tharakan, a smart textiles innovator and researcher, unpacks textile material and manufacturing innovations from idea to market adoption, through her conversations with pioneers and global experts radically transforming the textile industry around the world. </p><p>Through these in-depth conversations, you'll explore emerging textile technology, textile engineering breakthroughs, sustainable textiles, biomaterials, next gen materials, textile manufacturing innovation, circular systems, smart textiles, materials commercialisation, and the future of textile manufacturing.</p><p>From biodegradable textiles and bio based fibres to digital transformation, advanced technical textiles, responsible sourcing, and industry-wide transformation, each episode explores how innovation moves from idea to impact.</p><p>If you're interested in textile innovation, future materials, sustainable textiles, fashion, and the people building the future fabric of our world, this show will help you understand where the industry is heading and why it matters.</p><p>This show brings alive the myriad facets of the complex world of Textiles - a world where there are no ordinary cloths and fabrics have the power to change us and our world.</p><p>Popular Episode Topics Include: Textile Innovation, Future Materials, Sustainable Textiles, Fashion, Biomaterials, Next Gen Materials, Textile Engineering, Emerging Textile Technology, Smart Textiles, Advanced Textiles, Technical Textiles, Textile R&D, Textile Manufacturing Technology, Future Fabric, Circular Fashion, Textile Recycling, Regenerative Materials, Supply Chain Transparency, Digital Product Passports, Materials Commercialisation, Textile Industry Transformation. </p><p>Listen and be inspired, find new connections and create extraordinary textiles...</p><p><strong>Connect with Mili Tharakan: </strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjtharakan/">Linkedin</a> I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/noordinarycloth/">Instagram</a> I <a href="https://www.noordinarycloth.com/">Website</a></p><p>Email: mili@militharakan.com</p><p>Your support means the world to me, if you enjoyed this podcast why not consider <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/noordinarycloth">buying me a coffee</a></p><p><strong>Credits</strong></p><p>Cover art: Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash</p><p>Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates bi-weekly.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 8 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
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