Green Batik
Transformation
Programme
An initiative born from a vision that batik can thrive without costing the environment, the communities, or the future generations who carry it forward.
Batik: The Journey of Indonesian Culture and Heritage
From president to teachers, office workers and children: everyone in Indonesia owns a piece of Batik. Batik is an icon of Indonesian culture that developed in the 17th century. Initially started as a pastime activity, the craftsmanship of batik painting has been passed down for generations.
While batik is produced across the Indonesian archipelago, the city of Pekalongan on the north coast of Central Java stands out as the undisputed ‘Capital of Batik’, contributes to fulfilling more than 70% of domestic demand which is marketed to all regions in Indonesia.
The ‘Other Side’ of Batik
Unfortunately, anyone visiting Pekalongan today will immediately see the ‘other side’ of batik: traditional production methods are causing huge environmental damage, and dangerous labour conditions harm workers’ health.
Making matters worse, a lack of modern-day business skills, poor marketing and weak entrepreneurship, have caused most of the Pekalongan’s 1,500+ batik producers to live on the edge of poverty, hurting their ability to invest and innovate and making batik a poor prospect for younger generations.
The Main Batik Issues
Based on an in-depth analysis across three dimensions (water and environment, social and economic, and entrepreneurship and market) and mapped against the batik value chain, we identified the key issues that must be addressed together. This integrated understanding forms the foundation of our 12 Green Batik Goals.
Towards Green Batik
The Green Batik Transformation Programme was born from a vision that batik can thrive without costing the environment, the communities, or the future generations who carry it forward. This programme addresses the environmental, social, and economic challenges facing Indonesia’s batik industry through an integrated approach: combining Technical Interventions and Capacity & Engagement to transform batik production into a sustainable practice.
The programme brings together local communities, governments, universities, and international partners to transform how batik is produced, managed, and celebrated. From wastewater solutions and sustainable water use to green industry standards and community empowerment, every initiative under this programme is a step toward a cleaner, fairer, and more resilient batik industry.