Batik and sustainability, what choices do we make?

The fashion industry is a big polluter: 8 to 10% of the global carbon emissions are caused by the fashion industry. The fashion industry is not only heavily taxing on the environment: the workers who are tasked with making the fast fashion garments are often exposed to unsafe working conditions, have to work long days and get paid pennies (source: UN).

Besides being a threat to the environment and the inhumane working conditions, fast fashion is also a threat to the craft of batik. Making a batik is an intensive and time-consuming process, which requires patience and knowledge. Due to the rise of cheaper industrially-made imitations, such as screen prints and machine made prints, there is a decline in batik workshops. Batik makers can hardly compete with the low prices of batik imitations, making the batik industry increasingly vulnerable.

Guave believes it can be done differently. We choose slow fashion: producing clothes with attention to people and the planet. For a small business like ourselves a completely sustainable supply chain is not possible yet. But we always opt for the most responsible option within our means, taking working conditions, the planet and fair compensation into account.

prodcution choices

We like to stimulate and support local talent. Most of the clothes sold here are produced outside of the Netherlands, to extremely low wages. We choose to produce our collections in the Netherlands instead. A part of production is done in-house in our studio in Amsterdam and we collaborate with the GildeLab. By producing our items in the Netherlands we help sustain the Dutch manufacturing industry and we minimise our carbon footprint.

made to order

Our production process is split in two ways. We partly produce small collections in limited quantities in advance, and we have a made to order system in place. Made to order entails the item gets produced once your order comes in*. Because of these ways of producing, we have better oversight of demand, which allows us to prevent overproduction.

A few items are made in limited quantity, like the vintage batik waistcoats.

* We do have a couple of items in several sizes in stock in our studio, so you can try these on when you book a studio visit.

Fabric

We buy our batiks from small batik businesses and independent makers on Java, for which we pay a fair price. There are little to no intermediaries taking away portions of the proceeds, ensuring support to the makers themselves. We have (in)directly contact with the batik makers, whom we try to visit when possible. We try to visit their workshops on a yearly basis. This is sometimes hard, so we make sure we keep in touch with them about our work and theirs.

We value the autonomy of the batik makers. We let them choose and make the patterns as much as possible. This ensures makers have room to experiment and grow within their craft, and creates a unique and authentic item for you. If you want to learn more about batik, go to our batik page!

We think it is important to offer transparency of our production chain. The batik makers are responsible for buying their own materials, mainly cotton. This is an industry of its own with a complex supply chain, where many different intermediaries are involved before the fabric gets to the batik makers. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to find out where the cotton was sourced and how it was produced.

The dyeing of batiks is done with synthetic dye. This is a common practice nowadays. There is no environmentally friendly alternative suitable to produce high-quality batiks available yet. Natural dyes do not adhere sufficiently to the fabric, which makes for dull and patchy colours and hardly visible patterns. Colours also fade much faster, especially in the case of garments. As long as there is no alternative that is up to standards, synthetic dyes make the best option to ensure your batik item lasts a long time. We take it upon ourselves to follow the developments in this area, and are working on sustainable alternatives behind the scenes.

For the non-batik fabrics we collaborate with Enschede Textielstad, a sustainable weaving mill in Enschede, the Netherlands. They weave the quantity of fabric - recycled and organic cotton - we demand. We take only what we need, which means we do not have any surplus fabric.

the journey of your batik item

The batik is made in Indonesia, at the North Coast. Guave collaborates with batik workshops in Bandung, Cirebon and Tegal.

The batiks are bundled, carefully packaged and shipped to the Netherlands,

When the batik has arrived in the Netherlands, it will be transformed into the desired piece of clothing at the Guave studio in Amsterdam.

the garment comes to you!

Other materials

Labels, zippers, buttons

When it comes to sewing notions, we aim for sustainable options. The buttons we use are made of corozo: the nuts of the Tagua-palm. They offer a natural and biodegradable alternative to polyester buttons. The labels are made of certified organic cotton and are produced by a family-owned business. The zippers are not sustainably made.

Packing materials

We use recycled paper and cardboard to pack and ship our items. When possible we opt to reuse boxes, but we guarantee that your item is always handled with love.