No Ordinary Cloth: Textile innovations in future materials, manufacturing and sustainability

Hosted by Mili Tharakan

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Sep 2026

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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. Textile innovations are shaping the future of materials, manufacturing, and the products we use every day, with sustainability and circularity driving a radical revolution. The most important shifts in our industry are happening upstream where researchers, designers, material scientists, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and innovators are creating the future materials that will define the next generation of textiles. That's what No Ordinary Cloth explores. 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. Through these in-depth conversations, you'll explore emerging textile technology, textile engineering, sustainable textiles, biomaterials, next gen materials, textile manufacturing innovation, circular systems, commercialisation and the future of fashion and technical textiles. 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. 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. 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. Listen and be inspired, find new connections and create extraordinary textiles... Connect with Mili Tharakan: Linkedin I Instagram I Website Email: mili@militharakan.com Your support means the world to me, if you enjoyed this podcast why not consider buying me a coffee Credits Cover art: Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

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38 recent

October 11, 20261 hr 17 min

Ep 37. Velvety Natural Flock Fibres from Textile Waste with Sara Robertson, Annika Syrjamäki and Sarah Taylor

Flocking is one of those techniques we have all touched without knowing its name: the velvety surface on a wallpaper, a piece of packaging, a couture garment or a car dashboard. It is made from tiny fibres, electrostatically charged so they stand upright in an adhesive, and for most of its history those fibres have been nylon, polyester or viscose. In this episode of No Ordinary Cloth, Mili is joined by Sara Robertson and Sarah Taylor of Sara + Sarah Smart Textile Design, and Annika Syrjämäki of Maison du Flock, the team behind FLOCC, a Scotland-Netherlands collaboration. This work begins on the finishing floor of MYB Textiles, a heritage lace mill in Scotland, where yarn clipped from finished cloth collects in bags beside the machines. FLOCC turns those cotton clippings, and later silk and mixed-fibre waste from Sudbury Silk Mills, into flock fibre that is, in Sara's words, "baby soft". In this conversation, we discuss An explanation to the flocking technique and why the usual nylon, polyester and viscose fibres are a microfibre problem Where FLOCC began: the yarn clippings collected at the side of the machines at MYB Textiles, and why a lace mill's cotton clippings are already short enough to be a good flock fibre The route from waste to flock Cotton, silk and mixed-fibre waste and the range of flock fibre that can be produced. Scaling to100m of flocked fabric The search for a bio- adhesive Passing testing and standards The scale catch-22: recyclers need bigger scale, small studios need a kilo or two What the team learnt at Future Fabrics Expo and Textiles Recycling Expo What they would tell someone at the start of a similar journey Resources FLOCC : contact for samples and pilot production. Instagram: @smarttextiledesign FLOCC Linktree Maison du Flock : for high-end flocking MYB Textiles : 126 year old Scottish mill that produces lace A special thanks to Creative Scotland's Go See Share fund for supporting the FLOCC team attendance at Future Fabrics Expo FLOCC has been developed with support from Innovate UK, Edinburgh Napier University, the WORTH Partnership Project, and Creative Scotland through its Crowdfunding Match Funding and Go See Share programmes. Swarovski Foundation : Creatives for our Future grant programme. Closing date 9th November 2026 Connect with Mili : LinkedIn | Instagram | Buy me a coffee Recommended listening - Ep 1. Light and Lace with Sara Robertson - Ep 22. Fight Against Fashion Waste - Ep 36. Recycling Nylon Waste If you enjoyed this, please share the episode with a friend or colleague. Subscribe and leave a review, I love to hear your feedback. Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

September 7, 20261 hr 25 min

🌱 Ep 36. Recycling Nylon, Paper Electronics and Secrets to Scaling a Startup with Luciano Caruso and Chloe So (xFashion District)

This is a special episode in partnership with Fashion District London What actually happens in the years between "the science works" and "we're a real supplier"? In this episode of No Ordinary Cloth, Mili is joined by two founders walking that tightrope right now — mid-crossing, not the polished after-the-fact version of the story. Luciano Caruso, Chief Commercial Officer of Epoch Biodesign, explains how the company's AI-designed enzymes recycle nylon — including nylon 6.6, the tough, blended, historically unrecyclable material behind everything from yoga pants to tyre cords to under-the-bonnet automotive parts — at room temperature, without the heat, pressure and harsh chemicals of conventional chemical recycling. Fresh off acquiring a 52,000-ton-capacity polymer plant in Spain, he walks through what it actually takes to de-risk a deep-tech material business: technology milestones, then production milestones, then commercial milestones, each one making the next round of investment easier to raise. Chloe So, co-founder and CEO of Pulpatronics, is solving a much smaller-looking problem with an equally large footprint: the roughly 45 billion RFID tags thrown away every year, each one built around a metal antenna that jams recycling processes. Pulpatronics turns paper itself into that antenna using laser-etched circuits, cutting CO2 emissions by 60% and cost by 30% — and she's candid about what it actually looks like to scale from 50 hand-finished tags a day toward the millions the industry runs on. In this conversation, we discuss Why nylon — despite being one of the most useful materials on earth, from apparel to airbags to EV battery trays — is so stubbornly hard to recycle, and how Epoch's AI-designed enzymes "unbake the cake" at room temperature instead of using heat, pressure and harsh chemicals What's actually inside the RFID tag on every clothing hang tag, why it can't easily be recycled, and how Pulpatronics replaces the metal antenna with a laser-etched paper circuit The "valley of death" in plain terms: the gap between science that works and a business that's self-sufficient, and the different way each founder is trying to close it — technology, production and commercial milestones for Epoch; first repeat customers and manufacturing scale-up for Pulpatronics Why Epoch bought a 60-person, 60-year-old polymer plant in Spain rather than building one from scratch, and what "de-risking" actually looks like for a deep-tech material startup Why big corporates hesitate to invest in or partner with startups even once the technology is proven — and what it actually takes to become a "drop-in" solution, commercially as well as technically The moment Chloe's team pulled its own R&D engineers onto the factory floor to hand-build a customer's sample order — and what that period of pressure did for the team Why ecosystem partners — accelerators, university networks, corporate investors like Inditex, Lululemon and H&M Foundation — matter as much as the technology itself What's kept each founder going, and the advice they'd give other founders Resources: Epoch Biodesign Pulpatronics Connect with Mili: LinkedIn | Instagram | Buy me a coffee Subscribe and leave a review — I love to hear your feedback. Recommended listening: Ep 20. Ecosystem Partners for Textile Startups (Fashion for Good, Fashion District & Mills Fabrica) Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash. Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

August 5, 20261 hr 12 min

Ep 35. Weaving out Waste: How WEFFAN is Forming Garments within Fabric with Graysha Audren

What if the fashion industry didn’t have to create waste in the first place? In this episode of No Ordinary Cloth , Mili sits down with textile designer and founder of WEFFAN, Graysha Audren , to explore a radically different way of making clothes: garments that are folded, flat‑packed and “baked” straight into the weave on a jacquard loom. From an olive‑green 3D‑woven shirt on a small table at Future Fabrics Expo to a 3D‑woven tailored suit in Balenciaga stores, Graysha walks us through how WEFFAN’s origami‑inspired 3D weaving technology embeds garment shape directly into the fabric, designs out off‑cut waste, and collapses traditional textile and garment manufacturing into a single, elegant workflow. Along the way, we talk about the craft behind this innovation, the human journey of building an idea from student “baby trousers” to couture‑level production, and what it might mean for the factories, designers and weavers who shape fashion’s future. In this conversation, we discuss How WEFFAN’s 3D weaving process “flat‑packs” garments inside the fabric and releases them into 3D form through a cut‑and‑release step. Why waste is a design decision, and how embedding garment shape in the weave can remove off‑cuts and reduce yarn use before waste is ever created The Balenciaga collaboration: what it took to go from experiment to a 3D‑woven tailored suit on the shop floor, and what changed in production lead times and sew time The new design language of 3D‑woven garments – seamless pockets, pattern‑matched stripes, engineered fabric densities and mono‑material construction that’s easier to recycle. Bringing together software, jacquard weaving and origami logic to build a plug‑and‑play system that works on existing looms, rather than asking the industry to invest in new hardware What this technology could mean for on‑demand manufacturing, shorter supply chains and the factories of the future where fabric and garment are made in one step Graysha’s personal story: from Central Saint Martins and an obsession with textiles to the “baby trouser” that sparked WEFFAN, and why she now sees her youthful naïveté as an advantage in rethinking old systems Key takeaways Designing out waste starts at the design stage: when we change the construction logic, we change the amount of fabric and time a garment requires. 3D weaving on existing jacquard looms can be both deeply craft‑based and radically efficient, opening a new aesthetic and technical language for woven garments without discarding the skills and machines we already have. WEFFAN: Website | Linkedin Connect with Mili: LinkedIn I Insta I Buy me a coffee If you enjoyed this, please share the episode with a friend or colleague. Subscribe and leave a review, I would love to hear your feedback. Recommended listening for 3D garment construction technologies: Ep 13. 3D Weaving Yarns into Garments and Zero Inventory Circular Fashion with Beth Esponnette Ep 28. AI Robotics for Fabrics and the Future of Stitcheless Garment Making with Cam Myers Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash. Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

May 15, 20261 hr 7 min

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 — 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 I Insta I BioPuff sample Crowdfunding round — register your interest Mili Tharakan: LinkedIn I Insta I Buy me a coffee 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, 20261 hr 36 min

Ep 33. Part 3 I Clean Run: Detoxing 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 : 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 : 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 : 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 exhibition, curated by The Mills Fabrica in partnership with Goldwin , 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 I Insta I Buy me a coffee Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

April 23, 20261 hr 47 min

Ep 32. Part 2 I Clean Run: Detoxing the Running Jacket I 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 exhibition, curated by T he Mills Fabrica in partnership with Goldwin , 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 I Insta I Buy me a coffee Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash. Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestrama

April 8, 20261 hr 30 min

Ep 31. Part 1 I Clean Run: Detoxing the Running Jacket I Fibre and Fabric with Hitesh Manglani, Jeanne Begon-Lours and Khorceska Batyrova

Have you taken a close look at the label on your running jacket? It probably mentions a list of materials such as nylon, polyester, elastane — but what it doesn't say is that these materials are born from fossil fuels, made with toxic chemistry, and designed in a way that makes them almost impossible to recycle or break down at the end of their life. In this first episode of Clean Run, host Mili Tharakan takes an ordinary running jacket bought from the high street and deconstructs it — layer by layer, fabric by fabric — to ask: what would it look like if we rebuilt it from scratch, without the petrochemicals and toxins that are so embedded in performance wear today? To answer that question, Mili is joined by three founders who are each replacing one of the jacket's core fossil-fuel derived fibres with something radically different. Guests: Hitesh Manglani, CEO & Founder of SuperCarb — processing sugar molecules from seaweed and food waste into a high-performance polyester alternative that is inherently antibacterial, flame retardant, and free from microplastic shedding. Jeanne Begon-Lours, CEO & Co-founder of Tera Mira — developing the world's first fully bio-based elastane alternative made from seaweed, designed to replace the hidden villain that blocks recycling in almost every garment made today. Khorceska Batyrova, CEO & Co-founder of OzoneBio — turning wood waste and nutshells into bio-based Nylon 66, producing the same high-performance fibre without the toxic adipic acid manufacturing process that releases nitrous oxide — a gas 300 times more damaging than CO₂. Not petrochemicals but organic waste is the new raw material. Wood bark, nutshells, seaweed, citrus peels — the feedstocks these founders are using are things the world produces in enormous quantities and currently throws away. The running jacket of the future may well start in a forest floor or a food processing facility. In this episode: Why nylon, polyester and elastane are so dominant in performance wear — and what makes them so hard to walk away from How bio-based materials can match the performance of petroleum-based fibres — and where the trade-offs still exist The chicken-and-egg problem of scale that every material innovator faces with large brands What it actually takes to bring three new materials together into a single garment Honest reflections on favourite failures, founder wellbeing, and what keeps these innovators going The Clean Run series is inspired by the Performance Without Toxicity exhibition , curated by The Mills Fabrica in partnership with Goldwin , open until 26th June 2026 at Fabrica X in London. Entry is free. Clean Run is a three-part series. Episode 2 explores the hidden chemistry of finishing — the dyes, coatings, and construction decisions that can undermine even the cleanest fibre Connect with Mili Tharakan: LinkedIn I Insta I Buy me a coffee I Website If you enjoyed this, please share the episode with a friend or colleague. Subscribe and leave a review, I love to hear your feedback and it helps others discover this podcast Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

April 2, 20261 hr 15 min

🌱 Ep 30. Behind the Label: How Data is Rewriting the Rules of Fashion with Jothi Kanayala and Atnyel Guedj (x Fashion District

This is a special episode in partnership with Fashion District London What if you could trace every thread of a garment – from the cotton field to the shop floor and all the way to the recycling centre – and understand its true cost? Not just the financial cost, but the environmental, social, and human cost? That's the question at the heart of this episode. The fashion supply chain is one of the most complex systems in the world, and for decades it has operated largely in the dark. But a new generation of technology companies is changing that – gathering data, building transparency, and helping brands finally understand what is actually happening behind their labels. We are joined by Jothi Kanayalal from Clothing Connected and Atnyel Guedj from Made2Flow , who together offer a fascinating window into what it means to truly know your supply chain. What We Cover in This Episode Why the fashion supply chain has operated in the dark for so long – and why that is rapidly changing Why a garment label saying "Made in Bangladesh" tells us almost nothing – and why two thirds of a product's environmental impact lies in the invisible upstream tiers What Clothing Connected does day-to-day: onboarding suppliers across all tiers, automating compliance, replacing spreadsheets and emails with a real-time single source of truth What Made2Flow does: collecting "activity data" from facilities worldwide, running automated lifecycle assessments (LCAs), and turning incomplete, fragmented data into reliable environmental impact results The biggest barriers slowing brands' adoption of supply chain technology – from ROI pressure and fragmentation to digital literacy across developing nations The regulations brands can no longer ignore: Digital Product Passports (DPP), ESPR, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and the Green Claims Directive How AI is beginning to transform data validation and verification How Clothing Connected and Made2Flow complement each other in a brand's data ecosystem Key Takeaways Most brands have visibility only to tier 4 (garment manufacturer) and partially tier 3 (fabric mill). Tier 2 and tier 1 upstream data – spinners, ginners, raw material sources – remains largely invisible Without supply chain data, brands cannot ensure ethical production, avoid harmful substances like PFAS, calculate EPR taxes accurately, or prepare for Digital Product Passports Clothing Connected operates as a cryptographic ledger – more energy efficient than blockchain – and is multilingual, serving over 3,000 clothing suppliers Made2Flow's LCA engine is specialised in fast-moving consumer goods and textiles, able to work with incomplete data and fill gaps reliably using years of accumulated process knowledge The brands that invest in data infrastructure now will be far better positioned when DPP and ESPR regulations arrive for textiles in 2027 This is no longer only a sustainability conversation – it is a financial and business imperative Connect with: Jothi Kanayalal I Atnyel Guedj Connect with me: LinkedIn I Insta I Buy me a coffee Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

February 16, 20261 hr 11 min

🌱 Ep 29. Cotton, Soil & Solar: Re‑imagining the "Quiet King" of Textiles with Catherine Bottrill and Felix Bartlett (x Fashion District)

This is a special episode in partnership with Fashion District London. In this episode of No Ordinary Cloth , we go back to where the cotton story truly begins: in the soil and in small farming communities. Mili is joined by Felix Bartlett, founder of Biothread, and Dr. Catherine Bottrill, co‑founder of ACE (Affordable Clean Environment) Cotton, to explore how regenerative farming, microbial science and clean energy can transform the future of the world’s favourite fibre. Together they unpack the small and large scale cotton farming industry and ask what it would mean for cotton to become a force for regeneration: rebuilding soil health, cutting emissions and creating real wealth and dignity for the people who grow it. In this episode, we talk about: Why cotton is still the “quiet king” of textiles – beloved by the richest and the poorest, and deeply bound up with power, politics and identity. The difference between conventional, organic and regenerative cotton – and why “regenerative” is as much a process and pathway as an end state. How Biothread uses microbial consortia and field trials to reduce synthetic fertiliser use, improve yields and strengthen soil health in cotton systems. The social realities behind cotton: farmer debt, crop failure, climate volatility and why soil degradation sits at the heart of many of these crises. ACE Cotton’s village‑level model in South Asia – combining solar irrigation, clean household energy and biodiversity projects to support just decarbonisation. How brand decarbonisation targets, farm‑level emissions and smallholder energy access can be aligned so climate action also builds resilience and opportunity. The role of data, measurement and software in proving impact – from input reductions and yield changes to carbon, water and livelihoods metrics. Farmer trust, pilots and “show and tell”: what it takes to introduce new technologies and financing models into communities where risk is already high. Why cotton must be protected as the most widely used natural fibre if we are to avoid a fully synthetic future for fashion. The power of storytelling in shifting cotton from “cheap commodity” to living system – and how Felix and Catherine draw on their own backgrounds to do that work. Pilio Group ACE Village BioThread Fashion District London Books on the history of cotton explore its role as a global commodity that shaped modern capitalism, industrialisation, and imperialism Empire of Cotton: A Global History : Sven Beckert A History of the Cotton Industry : Anthony Burton Cotton (Textiles that Changed the World) : Beverly Lemire Connect with me: LinkedIn I Buy me a Coffee Recommended listening: Ep 25. Turning Agri Waste to Cellulose Fibre Ep 14. Farm to Fibre Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

February 3, 20261 hr 24 min

Ep 28. AI Robotics for Fabrics and the Future of Stitchless Garment Making with Cam Myers

This episode goes deep into the complexity of how our clothes are cut and sewn today and what it will take to rebuild apparel manufacturing for the 21st century. Mili Tharakan is joined by Cam Myers, Founder, CEO and Board Director of CreateMe Technologies, who shares how his team is pioneering an autonomous, stitchless tailoring platform that brings together robotics, advanced adhesives and what he calls “Physical AI.” Cam is a seasoned entrepreneur and inventor with two decades of experience across automation, hardware, software, and apparel tech, he has built CreateMe from concept to industry pioneer, securing 25 patents for apparel automation innovations. Before CreateMe, Cam played key roles at DoubleClick (during its $3.1B sale to Google) and Group Commerce, a venture‑backed e‑commerce platform later acquired by Blackhawk Network. He began his career in investment banking at Allen & Company and holds an MA from Cambridge and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School, with further studies at MIT in advanced manufacturing. Key takeaways Why apparel remains one of the most labor‑intensive, offshored industries in the world, employing tens of millions of people and relying heavily on manual sewing. What makes sewing so hard to automate: unstable textile physics, extreme variability in fabrics and fits, and the need for human‑like perception and dexterity in three‑dimensional space. How CreateMe’s bonded garment technology uses printed adhesive patterns that mimic stitch files, enable fully automated assembly, and can be made thermo‑reversible for disassembly and recycling. Where this platform is already being applied—starting with categories like women’s underwear—and the range of fabrics, constructions, and embellishments it can support, from fine silks to complex laminations. The vision for on‑shoring and “microfactories of the future”: compact, high‑throughput production cells capable of million‑unit annual output, shorter lead times, and closer proximity to key consumer markets What this shift could mean for inventory risk, responsiveness, sustainability, and the economics of producing apparel in high‑wage regions. Cam’s founder journey from investment banking and high‑growth tech and e‑commerce ventures to building CreateMe into an apparel automation pioneer with a growing portfolio of patents—and why textiles should be seen as critical infrastructure, not just fashion trends. CreateMe London Sewing Machine museum: www.museumslondon.org 🎧 Recommended listening: Ep 6. AI for Zero waste fabric, Sustainability and Traceability in Textile Factories Ep 13. 3D Weaving yarn to garment and zero inventory circular fashion Connect with me Mili Tharakan: Linkedin I Insta I Website I Buy me a coffee ❤️ If you enjoyed this, please share the episode with a friend or colleague. Subscribe and leave a review, I love to hear your feedback. Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman

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