Sylviana
Hamdani looks at efforts to adopt batik production methods that are better for
the planet
 |
A model shows off a natural-dye design
as part of the ‘Clean Batik Initiative,’ a
collaboration between fashion designers
and textile makers. (Photo courtesy of
Ekonid) |
Batik is
synonymous with Indonesian elegance and is a source of national pride.
Acknowledged
in 2009 by Unesco as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity, Indonesian batik is seen everywhere — boardrooms, glamorous parties
and even malls.
But
unfortunately, batik production is not very environmentally friendly. Batik home
industries usually operate with excessive use of water, wax and chemicals that
can harm people and the natural environment in the long run.
“I’ve seen
a whole river turned red from the chemical waste that comes from batik-making,”
said Frans, a designer at Batik Fractal, a batik fashion house based in
Bandung.
The Clean
Batik Initiative of the German-Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce
(Ekonid) was launched in 2010 to address the concern.
The
four-year program, co-financed by the European Union under the Switch-Asia
grant, aims to influence discussion on Indonesian batik by introducing
sustainable production and consumption.
From 2010
to 2012, CBI programs focused on sustainable production. Through workshops,
seminars and training sessions, the CBI team encouraged small batik makers to
produce their wares in more environmentally friendly ways.
CBI project
coordinator Martin Krummeck said recently: “We’re proud to announce that this
year we’ve successfully reached our target of assisting over 500 batik SME’s
across six provinces in Indonesia.”
The
small-to-medium enterprises receiving CBI coaching are in Yogyakarta, Cirebon
(West Java), Pekalongan (Central Java), Sumenep (East Java), Makassar (South
Sulawesi) and Tarakan (North Kalimantan).
CBI entered
its final year in 2013 and, to mark this milestone, the CBI team invited five
Indonesian designers — Carmanita, Caterina Hapsari, Frans, L e n ny Agustin and
Musa Widyatmodjo — to cooperate with designated batik makers on a series of
fashion mini-collections.
High
fashion
The designs
produced through the collaborations were recently the subject of a gala fashion
show and exhibition.
 |
Models show off natural-dye designs that
are the fruits of the ‘Clean Batik Initiative,’
a collaboration between fashion designers
and textile makers. (Photo courtesy of
Ekonid) |
“EcoBatik
Signature Collection,” saw the five designers present 42 outfits made from
eco-friendly batiks.
Senior
fashion designer Musa said EcoBatik was batik with “a beautiful story about the
production process, natural dyes, natural forces like the sun and wind.”
Musa’s
mini-collection, for men, was themed “Natural Society.” The collection
consisted of men’s casual and formal batik shirts in dark, earthy colors. “I
hope Indonesia will soon become a natural society with EcoBatik,” Musa said.
All the
batik shirts shown were made of breathable natural fibers, such as linen and
cotton and paired with tailored pants and Bermuda shorts.
Caterina’s
green showcase was titled “Exotic Silhouette of Indonesia” and consisted of
elegant evening gowns made of a combination of batik on silk, brocade and
tulle.
“My designs
are my personal interpretation of the cultural heritage, to combine the modern
with the traditional,” Caterina said.
Batik
Fractal presented a mini- collection inspired by the German Bauhaus movement of
between 1919 and 1933 that combined crafts and fine art. The collection,
designed with special software, consisted of casual and cocktail dresses made
of a combination of batik on cotton and tweed, with elegant patterns of flowers
and poison ivy.
“We’re very
honored to be appointed as the youngest designer partner for this program,”
Frans said. “With our participation in CBI, we hope to bring in younger
customers to this natural and traditional fashion style and create a new market
for it.”
Lenny wowed
the audience with clothes very different from her usual vibrantly colored collections.
Themed “In
the Woods,” Lenny’s collection featured men’s and women’s casual items in a
subdued palette of pale green, brown, khaki and sky blue.
Despite the
more subdued colors, Lenny’s batiks are endearing, patterned as they are with
flowers and butterflies.
“It’s quite
a challenge for me,” Lenny said. “Personally, I love very vibrant colors, while
natural-dyed batiks have pale or dark colors. But surprisingly, my customers
really love [the new collection].”
A founder
of the Indonesia Batik Foundation (YBI), Carmanita presented a series of
elegant batik evening dresses of silk and lace.
The senior
designer has been involved with the Clean Batik Initiative from the start of
the program in 2010.
She said
that while she was already using natural-dye batiks in her collections, “the
CBI program has got me more involved with the batik artisans.”
How it
works
 |
Models show off natural-dye designs that
are the fruits of the ‘Clean Batik Initiative,’
a collaboration between fashion designers
and textile makers. (Photo courtesy of
Ekonid) |
With the
CBI team, Carmanita tutored batik artisans to use natural dyes for batik.
Secang
(Caesalpinia sappan) bark and banana stem, for example, are combined for a dark
ruby color, while belimbing wuluh (Averrhoa bilimbi) is used to produce a rich
blue. Mahogany bark, meanwhile, is used for dark purple.
Carmanita
encouraged the artisans to themselves grow the species they would use for
natural dyeing and also recommended turning to local wet markets as well as
nearby farms as a source of dye materials and as an alternative to harvesting
the raw materials from the wild.
Batik
Mayani is an SME batik-maker in Cirebon that has adopted these methods,
including having its employees plant natural dye species in their backyards.
“We’ve
tried and discovered new things in CBI programs,” Batik Mayani co-owner Gusak
Tilaswangi said. “They’re all very exciting. And we’re very proud that our
batiks are helping protect the natural environment.”
However,
environmental awareness applies throughout the sustainable batik production
process, not just to dyes.
Traditional
batik is usually hand-stenciled by teams of women working in an open-air
environment that is covered but lacks walls. Even during the day, high-powered
lamps are used in these workshops to provide better illumination to the working
artisans.
To conserve
energy, CBI introduced simple and easy-to-make solar lamps made of water
bottles, bleaching agent and tin plates.
With the
tin plates set into the roof overhead, the bottles are filled with a bleach
solution and inserted part-way into the plates so that the top part protrudes
into the sunlight.
“During the
day, these bottles transmit sunlight into the workshops,” explained Mohammad
Iqbal, a CBI project officer. “Each bottle can output the equivalent of a
55-watt bulb.”
The
kerosene stoves that batik artisans have traditionally used to melt wax for
stenciling emit fumes that may cause nausea and, over the long run, more serious
health consequences.
As such,
CBI has introduced, as a replacement, small electric stoves that provide much
cleaner energy and are also more cost-effective.
A small
batik maker may spend some Rp 250,000 per month on kerosene but the outlay can
be as little as Rp 20,000 with electric stoves.
“That’s 90
percent more efficient,” Iqbal said.
Finally,
batik artisans usually rinse the wax-resist dyes from raw textiles by immersing
them in massive pots of boiling water heated with firewood.
To minimize
wood burned, the CBI program introduced a homemade blower that feeds fresh air
to the fire.
“This
blower decreases the amount of firewood used in the industry by 50 percent,”
Iqbal said.
In fact,
CBI’s own calculations show that, since 2012, the program has prevented over
1,100 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the environment.
CBI has
clearly benefited the environment and the batik home industries involved in its
programs. The initiative has also catalyzed valuable collaboration between
fashion designers and batik producers.
So, what’s
next?
Through to
mid-2014, the CBI team will focus on encouraging sustainable batik consumption
by raising awareness about eco-friendly batik among local and international
consumers.
The
Indonesia and international tour of the “EcoBatik Signature Collection” has
already kicked off and exhibitions are upcoming at the Singapore Gifts &
Premiums Fair (this Wednesday to Friday) and the International Tourismus-Borse
Berlin (March 2014).
The CBI
team is also lobbying the national government to formulate policies that
encourage SME’s to switch to more environmentally friendly ways of making
batik.
“We’ve
asked [Indonesia’s] minister of industry to establish an independent
certification body to guarantee the authenticity of eco-friendly batiks for the
customers,” Krummeck said.
The
“EcoBatik Signature Collection” is also available at the outlets of the
participating designers.
“CBI is a
good project that has given us an option to produce batik and save the natural
environment,” Carmanita said.
