Title: Understanding the future of the environmentally friendly Batik Industry in Malaysia

Authors: Mohamad Saifudin Mohamad Saleh; Nia Izzati Azrin; Naziru Alhaji Tukur; Shaidatul Akma Adi Kasuma

Addresses: School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia ' School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia ' School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia ' School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

Abstract: Recently, the concept of environmental-friendly has been introduced for batik entrepreneurs, where they are encouraged to produce batik that uses natural dye to minimise threats to environmental safety. Although concerning this issue, there is limited literature available on this subject in the context of Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to narrow the gap in this field by addressing the following objectives: to examine the knowledge and acceptance of batik entrepreneurs towards the production of environmentally friendly batik products; and to investigate the challenges faced by batik entrepreneurs in Malaysia in producing environmentally friendly batik. To achieve these, a series of interviews were conducted with six batik entrepreneurs in the Northern region of Malaysia. The results indicate a good level of knowledge among the entrepreneurs on environmentally friendly batik products and processes. However, their acceptance level is rather low, as they face many challenges in maintaining green initiatives, primarily the high cost of fabrication.

Keywords: Malaysia; Asia; sustainable batik; sustainability; entrepreneurs; environment-friendly; qualitative; interview; environment; knowledge; acceptance; challenges; green business.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2024.140376

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2024 Vol.16 No.3, pp.193 - 211

Accepted: 26 Oct 2022
Published online: 06 Aug 2024 *

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