KOTA BARU: Businessmen from Malaysia and Germany, together with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, have started a programme in Kelantan and Terengganu to encourage and carry out sustainable eco-friendly batik production.
The programme, under the European Union Switch-Asia grant and called the Clean Batik Initiative (CBI), aims to “green” both the supply and demand side of the batik industry by taking into account the environmental impact on production. Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce general manager Thomas Brandt said many batik factories operate with excessive use of water, wax, chemical dyes and bleaching agents that are harmful to people and the environment.