Environmental issues are now a global concern. Including the fashion industry has recently become one of the global highlights. The industry is now under increasing scrutiny for unfriendly practices and exploitative labor conditions.
So starting from this background, young entrepreneurs in Indonesia have found ways to ensure that fashion is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting cultural heritage, utilizing natural dyes, and supporting women's financial inclusion and family income.
Commemorating International Youth Day 2021, the United Nations organization for education, science and culture, UNESCO Jakarta in collaboration with Citi Indonesia held the Wastra Nusantara Virtual Market which was held last August 18, 2021.
The event met young entrepreneurs who are struggling to preserve their ancestral crafts such as batik, while blending traditional and contemporary practices to preserve the environment. Their works have succeeded in creating livelihoods for local residents as well as helping the community in difficult times due to the pandemic that destroyed many micro, small and medium enterprises. There is also a lot of knowledge about traditional literature such as batik, ulos, Lombok weaving, Endek weaving, and Lurik.
"Creativity is about combining existing disciplines and ideas with an unexpected twist. Young entrepreneurs in Indonesia are doing this by breathing new life into traditional wastra, and making fashion an agent of local development," said Moe Chiba, Program Specialist for Culture UNESCO Jakarta.
Moreover, Indonesia is one of the world's largest textile producers and the fashion industry employs around 3.7 million Indonesians. "As we strive to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, youth-initiated innovation is critical to building a more sustainable and inclusive fashion industry," said Valerie Julliand, Head of the United Nations Representative in Indonesia.
For Nina Weaver, a group of weavers from East Lombok whose members are beneficiaries of the UNESCO project, the realization of sustainable fashion is more than just promoting environmentally friendly practices such as natural dyeing. “The Nina Weavers group also applies a zero-waste fashion approach by empowering the elderly to process leftover yarns into a scarf which we call Rerempek. From an economic perspective, our group has also succeeded in freeing vulnerable residents from moneylenders,” said Dewi Handayani, a member of the group who works in Pringgasela Village, East Lombok Regency.
The young designers who will display their designs in this event are participants in the Creative Youth at Indonesian Heritage Sites program, or better known as Kita Muda Kreatif. The program from UNESCO Jakarta and Citi Indonesia and supported by the Citi Foundation provides assistance to increase business capacity for around 400 young entrepreneurs who live around UNESCO world heritage sites as well as several other Indonesian super-priority tourist destinations.
Among the activities to support the business recovery of young entrepreneurs that have been carried out, Kita Muda Kreatif provides online marketing training and opportunities to bring program participants together with the public through various events and activities.
"This virtual market is an innovative way to answer the marketing challenges faced by young Indonesian crafters during the pandemic," said Puni A. Anjungsari, Country Head for Corporate Affairs Citi Indonesia.
