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
No Ordinary Cloth: Textile innovations in future materials, manufacturing and sustainabilityShow Notes
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
More from No Ordinary Cloth: Textile innovations in future materials, manufacturing and sustainability
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.
This is a special episode in partnership with Fashion District London
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.
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.
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.