Latest Trends in Textile and L UPINE PUBLISHERS Fashion Designing Open Access DOI: ISSN: 2637-4595 10.32474/LTTFD.2018.01.000104Research Article A Combined Material Substitution and Process Change Approach to Sustainable Batik Production Abraham Ekow Asmah1, Vincentia Okpattah2 and Charles Frimpong3* 1,2Department of Integrated Rural Art and Industry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana 3Department of Industrial Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana Received: January 10, 2018; Published: January 19, 2018 *Corresponding author: Charles Frimpong, Department of Industrial Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi Abstract This paper empirically presents a batik production process optimization using sustainable production (SP) methods. The stages of processbatik production optimization processes in two involvebatik enterprises designing, inmethodology, the Kumasi metropolis.dyeing, washing, The main and objectivefinishing. ofThe this cost research, of production is to determine is determined the impact by the of implementation efficiency and calculation of output to input ratio in the production process. The case study method is employed for production material sustainability, and the minimization of the production process cost in order to promote maximum operational economic benefits. The implications of this intervention shows that, in batik production process, there could be a saving cost of resisting material by GH₡ 31.00, practiceswith a process of the time batik of industry. 290mins It and is recommended an activity cost that reduction much is of to GH₡ be gained 68.00 byin sustainingjust replacing the paraffinpractice wax when with cultural cassava themes starch. are The employed identified in theintervention artifacts created.has also been found as significant to address the identified issues that bring a substantial change in the current manufacturing Keywords: Batik Production; Environmental Resource; Sustainable Production Practices Introduction in its supply and harmful to human health due to the heat it Batik is a process of dyeing fabric by making use of a resist generates in the path of the melting and wax application. The cost of production makes its market price much higher than those from technique classified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific foreign lands. Comparatively, the cheapness of foreign batiks and cultural heritage of humanity”. It is a traditional creative self- and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of the “intangible the high selling price of locally produced batik compete unfavorably expressionistic art form in fabric design which originated from for the implementation of sustainable production practices that in the Ghanaian market. To avert this trend there is the urgent need the Far East and known throughout the world [1]. In Ghana today, offers an advantage for the progress and development of the batik the batik industry is recognized as a profitable enterprise in the industry. scale creative industry. The potency of this small and medium fashion industry and is also classified under the small to medium industry at the local level cannot be over emphasized as its This is premised on the fact that using cassava starch and its developmental efforts contribute to the quickening of the nation’s economic empowerment. Its merchandise is well-known in the creative industries as one of the leading developmental enterprises modification for batik making in Ghana due to its accessibility and sustainability is far more beneficial than the traditional use of the expensive in the marketplace. This makes the end product very exportable paraffin wax which sometimes is unavailable and yet expensive to the low income earner. Cassava offers a broad scope clusteredThe expectation in Ghanaian of communities. the industry is to provide important support to the industrial sector’s contribution to local community revenue. most farmers in the rural areas. Cassava cultivation is practiced in However, its production methodology appears to be detrimental of applications with its overall benefits and provides livelihood to to the growth and development of the industry. The cause is not all the Agro-ecological zones in Ghana which gives strength to its for its production is a foreign imported material, unsustainable sustainability in terms of cultivation [2]. In Ghana, it is estimated farfetched, in that the prime resist component - paraffin wax - used that 70% of farmers grow cassava, contributing 16% of Ghana’s Cite this article: . A Combined Material Substitution and Process Change Approach to Sustainable DOI: . Abraham E A, Vincentia O, Charles F 10 Batik Production. Trends in Textile & Fash Design 1(1)-2018. LTTFD. MS.ID.000104. 10.32474/LTTFD.2018.01.000104 Charles Frimpong. Trends in Textile & Fash Design Volume 1- Issue 1: 2018 water and even much disturbing when bee wax is used which Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) according to Safo- cloth uses a difficult dewaxing process that requires hot boiling requires an addition of soap. Kantanka [3] and consumed by more than 80% of the population [3,4]. The cassava flours used for this innovative batik print are Cassava like starch on the other hand can be washed away of two types, the white powdered flour starch used for laundry finishing treatment and the brown powdered flour starch used for devastating when it gets in contact with human skin. Cassava starch with just cold water. Hot paraffin wax in use is very hot and thus foodThus [5]. far, the technique employed in Nigeria and elsewhere in the production of Adire is the white cooked starch as Braide and referred to as vein lines created when wax cools on fabric and the however is applied virtually in a cold state. “Ice patterns”, usually free-hand painting with the cooked cassava starch, or by stenciling Adetoro [6] describe. The method of implementation is either by dye liquor penetrates, is perhaps a significant advantage of using the starch on the material. The stencils are made with corrugated paraffin wax over the use of starch. Its operational residue on the zinc or a perforated tin sheet which allows the starch print on the to workers due to its slippery nature. floor coming in contact with heat or the sun’s ray becomes a danger Advantages of Cassava Starch Nigeria via the screen print method to force the paste out of the fabric. Kadolph [7] advocates the use of cooked starch paste in screen onto the fabric with the squeegee to produce Adire. Picton The natural thickening agent (cassava starch) used for the print paste is available and easily accessible to traditional batik and tie-dye printers all over the country. They impart adhesiveness and Mack [8] also affirm the use of cooked cassava starch mixed resist dyed fabric using the same procedure mentioned above. and softness to the printing paste so it can be applied to a fabric with a small amount of copper sulphate to produce the Adire Eleko surface without spreading. They are capable of maintaining the Important materials commonly used as binders for traditional design outlines even under excessive pressure. They adhere to the textiles are starch, derived from tree gums (acacia), food grains, dye particles in the desired place on the fabric until the transfer of stems or bases such as maize, wheat, tapioca and cassava. The choice of cassava starch as the vehicle for sustainable production practices is as a result of the following characteristics when applied in textile the dye into the fabric and its fixation are complete. Its viscosity is sufficiently high to prevent rapid diffusion of the colour through printing. Its high molecular weight compounds give a better viscous has a stable paste viscosity, which allows an even and measured the fabric, in order to avoid poor print definition outlines [12]. It paste in water below 90⁰C since hot starch pastes continue to lose in terms of the time during which the fabric is being printed, but adhesiveness and softness to the printing paste when used on a flow through the screen. The viscosity stability is not only durable viscosity if maintained near boiling temperatures [9]. They impart fabric surface without spreading. They are capable of maintaining the design outlines even under extreme pressure. They hold on to even through the dyeing process, [10]. The resultant cohesiveness the dye particles in the desired area on the fabric until the transfer ensures that the strength and the free flowing quality of the paste remainsPreparation intact even of starch after isits much preparation slower and and at its a cooler execution temperature [13]. and subsequent fixation of dye onto the fabric. Its viscosity is than does paraffin wax. It is a process that emits less soot, if any, than sufficiently high to prevent rapid diffusion of the colour through the on human health is eliminated. Because the starch is locally made, fabric and to avoid poor print definition outlines. It delivers a stable paraffin wax and therefore environmental toxicity with implications the sieve. The viscosity stability is not only durable in terms of the every purchase of it boosts the starch market and helps support paste viscosity, which grants an even and measured flow through time during which the cloth is being printed, but even through the farmers. Creating intricate design patterns with starch is easier to dyeing operation [10]. The resultant cohesiveness ensures that the control than paraffin wax due to its cooler temperature and slower after its formulation and execution. fluidity when in use than paraffin wax which tends to work better forcefulness and the free flowing quality of the paste remains intact a higher expertise to control. Perhaps the greatest advantage in the when hot with low viscosity making it difficult to control or require Disadvantages of Paraffin Wax use of starch as a resist medium is the whole change in technique that employs only a screen and squeegee.