Heaptalk, Jakarta – Increasing public awareness about preserving nature has made an environmentally friendly lifestyle popular and widespread in various market segments. Recently, ecoprint commodities have developed. For example, in making apparel, the producer avoids completely using chemical elements to pollute the environment.
As the name implies, ecoprint is derived from the word eco (means ecosystem of nature) and print which means to print. The printing motives are made by applying a technique called Hapazome (basic ecoprint technique) utilizing the aesthetics produced from natural dyes, such as natural wood, boiled seeds, and natural leaves such as Jatropha Kepyar, Jatropha Wulung, and Jatropha Bali as well as turmeric flowers, teak leaves, guava leaves, and cherry leaves.
Unlike most textile production that uses chemical substances, ecoprint uses natural elements without synthetic or chemical on its ingredients. That’s why this ecoprint apparel is very environmentally friendly and does not cause water, soil, or air pollution.
This vibes that Anggraini Kumalasari utilizes, women behind the heap of ecoprint commodity from Lampung, has introduced the trend along with her brand, Kahut Sigerbori, since 2018. She had the vision to educate the market about the value of a sustainable business that focused on the environment while promoting the local commodity of Bandar Lampung Province on a national or worldwide scale.
“The reason I create this brand, Kahut Sigerbori, is I want to promote one of the local gems. With an authentic uniqueness that is zero tolerance to the environmental pollution caused by the waste. Means that we are avoiding using chemicals in our process, but keep producing quality and aesthetic products (fabrics and apparel),” Anggraini Said to Heaptalk.
The name philosophy, Kahut Sigerbori, Anggraini deliberately took it from the Lampung regional language as a homage to local values. Epistemologically, Kahut Sigerbori stands for Kahut, which means the dear or the beloved one, and Sigerbori means something local terminology from the Lampung region.
And the Ecoprint product itself is something that Anggraini wants to promote on a national scale. The reason why Anggraini keeps fighting for this ecoprint product campaign because of his bad experience when struggling with the fabrics and apparel production with chemical dyes. So that when the waste is disposed of, there is not a single sign of life, even though it is micro, algae, or moss. If it still keeps unheeded and becomes a common thing, then the impact will be even broader. It will be caused environmental degradation that is not only on a residential scale but regionally.
Value Behind the Process
The other aspect that makes ecoprint fabrics and apparel getting more demand is the process of how it is made. Anggraini said that she with the team usually takes ten days to produce one quality fabric. By using the basic technique, Hapazome requires three processes to follow; first, hit the leaf that has been put on the fabrics with a beater. Next is to wind up the fabrics (red: oxidation process). Last, wash the fabrics before it is packaged.
There are also two other processes that Kahut Sigerbori usually does—using steam to transfer the floral tannic and through the solar print by spreading the fabrics under the sunlight to carry out the tannic.
So that, a very authentic value is embedded where the printed results between one fabric and another will never be precise. “This is one of the values where if we pay attention from a spiritual perspective, we will admire of how rich God’s creation is where there is not a single leaf or flower shape that is exactly the same in this world even if it’s the same leaf or flower,” Said Anggraini.
Therefore, according to Anggraini, there are two reasons why people buy this product. The first one is they are aware of the environmental sustainability issue. The second one is they know the value of how ecoprint fabrics are made, which is unique and cannot be duplicated.
Local Community Empowerment
Through the operation of Kahut Sigerbori in Lampung, it brings another benefit to the people, which is opening livelihood for local people. Anggraini disclosed that she tends to hire middle-aged housewives to collaborate.
“All mothers aged 40 years and over. Some are in the middle 30s. And they are primarily struggled in their life, significantly when a pandemic worsens it,” Said Anggraini.
However, it is like a blessing in disguise for Anggraini, as three years running, they can collaborate nicely. It is proven by the average ecoprint fabrics produced by Kahut Sigerbori that reach up to ten to twenty pieces, including the fabrics and other apparel like hijab, clothes, and tote bag. Even Anggraini said that sometimes She has to fulfill the high demand to reach 100 pieces per day.
The price for ecoprint fabrics is various, for example, cotton can be sold from around Rp 275.000 to Rp. 350.000. While for apparels it is ranging between Rp. 375.000 to Rp. 800.000. For Hijab, it is relatively on a low price that is ranging on between Rp. 100.000 to Rp. 200.000.
