The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks to Michael Markesbery, co-founder and CEO at Solarcore and OROS Labs, about scientifically advanced thermal solutions. 

Materials technology brand Solarcore utilises the thermal advantages of Aerogel – the NASA-licensed material used to insulate spacecraft in the -450° F vacuum of space. The ultra-thin insulation provides maximum temperature control with minimal loft.

In episode 101 of WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with co-founder and CEO Michael Markesbery about how he is using Aerogel in different industries including outdoorwear. 

Markesbery speaks about the challenges and advantages of using Aerogel in textile manufacturing. 

He also touches on Solarcore’s impressive Series Bfunding round of US$22m. If you would like to learn more, please visit solarcore.tech and oroslabs.com.

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected].

The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks to Jeannette Cook, communications manager at the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), about the global wool supply chain and the main challenges it currently faces.

The International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) is the global authority for standards in the wool textile industry. Since 1930, the organisation has represented the collected interests of the global wool trade.

In episode 100 of WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with the IWTO’s communications manager, Jeanette Cook, about how the organisation works and the challenges it aims to overcome. We also discuss its work in education and the annual events it holds.

Cook details how the IWTO prioritises sheep welfare as it looks to create a more traceable woollen supply chain within the textile industry.

She also speaks at length about the organisation’s work in creating a sustainable future for the wool trade. If you would like to learn more, please visit iwto.org.

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected].

The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks to Meredith Boyd of US-based textile solutions provider Unifi about its hero product Repreve and initiatives to create a sustainable value chain in textiles. 

Unifi is a global textile solutions provider and leading innovator in manufacturing synthetic and recycled performance fibres. Through Repreve, one of the US-based company’s proprietary technologies, Unifi has transformed more than 40bn plastic bottles into recycled fibres for apparel, footwear and other consumer products. 

In episode 99 of WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with the company’s executive vice president and chief product officer at Unifi, Meredith Boyd, about her role in bringing Repreve to a global consumer market. We also discuss how the company continually innovates technologies to meet consumer needs across the textile industry. 

Boyd also details Unifi’s Textile Takeback programme. This initiative collects pre- and post-consumer polyester-based fabric waste before transforming it into raw material. 

If you would like to learn more, please visit repreve.com.

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected].

The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks to Katie Fensome of UK conservation consultancy Biodiversify about biodiversity and how fashion businesses can better meet Environmental, Social and Governance targets.

Biodiversify is a conservation consultancy advising a range of private, public and third-sector clients who want to act for nature. The company has worked with fashion brands including Primark and Kering – owner of Gucci, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent – to design strategies that incorporate biodiversity and develop sustainable supply chain solutions.

In episode 98 of WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with Katie Fensome, principal consultant at Biodiversify about how the consultancy advises the fashion and textile industry to help businesses meet their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets.

Fensome explains why collaboration is key to addressing environmental issues, how the consultancy helps companies address biodiversity in their supply chain management and how to overcome challenges that arise in implementing them.

If you would like to learn more, please visit biodiversify.com.

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected].   

The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks with Dr Yuly Fuentes-Medel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Fabric Innovation Hub about how academic collaboration is transforming practices within the fashion industry. 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT)’s Fabric Innovations Hub seeks to answer how academia can benefit industry. The hub fosters a community of experts in fibres and fabrics to promote research, technology, education and innovation in support of the future of the textile industry. 

In episode 97 of WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with Dr Yuly Fuentes-Medel, project manager for fibre technologies at MIT’s Fabric Innovations Hub about the relationship between academia and the fashion industry. She speaks about how the hub operates and both its internal and external partnerships. 

Fuentes-Medel also touches on her work with the Footwear Collective, which is driving a collaborative and circular approach for the footwear industry by partnering with leading brands, dedicated to scope, develop and scale circular solutions. 

If you’d like to learn more, please visit fabric-ideas.mit.edu. 

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected]. 

Cotton accounts for roughly 65% of the fibres present in wardrobes worldwide. It is therefore a key discussion topic in the textile industry’s transition towards a sustainable future. 

In episode 96 WTiN’s Textile Innovation Podcast, we speak with Alia Malik, chief development officer at Better Cotton, about the company’s drive towards a traceable supply chain. Better Cotton is a world-leading sustainability initiative for the natural fibre. Its mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment.

Better Cotton already accounts for 22% of global cotton production. Malik speaks to WTiN about the company’s 2030 strategy, within which it launched Better Cotton Traceability at the end of 2023, to make it possible to trace Better Cotton back to its country of origin. She explains how the market is demanding more information and how this aligns with the company’s efforts to help farmers access these markets and generate sustainable livelihoods. 

If you’d like to learn more, please visit bettercotton.org.

You can listen to the episode above, or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To discuss any of our topics, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @abi_wtin on X, formerly Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, please email [email protected].

This month, WTiN speaks with Daniel Rufenacht, chief executive officer at Bluesign. Based out of Switzerland, Bluesign partners with brands, manufacturers and chemical suppliers, from fibre to finished product, with the aim to make safer workplaces and textile products that are less impactful on the environment and people. 

Rufenacht talks about the difference between a standard and an index – and why one is far more superior, why collaboration is integral as the current period continues to evolve when it comes to the planet and textiles, and most importantly: how to stay ahead of legislation. 

Contact Bluesign at bluesign.com/en/. To discuss any of the topics in the episode, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @rubyatwtin on X (formerly Twitter), or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected].

This month, WTiN speaks with Kris Cody. Founder and chief executive officer at PAKA, a company paving its own path with natural fibres since 2015. The idea of PAKA and traceable alpaca wool came after Cody was in Peru as part of a backpacking trip. After returning home, he booked a one-way flight back over to Peru and lived among the alpaca farmers and their families before starting the company. Now, nine years later, the company has hit a number of impressive milestones.

One year after a kick starter campaign that raised over 1700% of its initial target, PAKA released its first activewear: BREATHE, which was forged in partnership with SeaLegacy. Just last year, PAKA released its first traceable alpaca hoodie releases, in partnership with AIA, followed by the release of PAKAFILL® - an ‘ethical’ insulation for clothing.

Contact Cody at pakaapparel.com. To discuss any of the topics in the episode, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @rubyatwtin on X (formerly Twitter), or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected].

This month, WTiN speaks with Graham Stewart. He is the man behind a holistic patent-pending process called Fibre 52. The Fibre 52 process is holistic from prep to dye, and mill tests around the globe show it’s consistently repeatable. It also is integrated with no added machinery or upfront investment. Stewart talks about certification, sustainability, how the Fibre52 process came to be and how it can help manufacturing processes.

Contact Stewart at fibre52.com. To discuss any of the topics in the episode, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @rubyatwtin on X (formerly Twitter), or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected].

This month, WTiN speaks with Ishan Chathuranga – an e-textiles engineer based in Ontario, Canada. Chathuranga has more than eight years’ experience in electronic textile product development, failure analysis, and manufacturing. Chathuranga delves into the issues around scaling e-textiles, stages of development and the need for plug-and-play technology and standardisation.

To discuss any of the topics in the episode, get in touch by following @wtincomment and @rubyatwtin on Twitter, or email [email protected] directly. To explore sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected].