The Blue Water Footprint of Block-printed Batik Coloured by Natural Dye of Myrobalan (Terminalia bellirica Roxb.) Mordanted by Alum and Copperas

Abstract

The batik production by home industries in Central Java, Indonesia, has been creating surface water pollution because of synthetic dyes, and triggers to its replacement by natural dyes. However, the use of natural dye could consumes more water, as the fabric should be immersed into the extract repetitively, which make up to the high of Blue Water Footprint. This study aims to examine the Blue Water Footprint (BWF) of batik production coloured by Myrobalan (Terminalia bellirica Roxb.) extract. An experiment was conducted in a large-scaled batik home industry in Jarum village, Klaten. White block-printed cotton fabrics, Myrobalan extract, and alum and copperas were used for the experiment, while water usage were calculated. The BWF of block-printed batik of both treatments were 156.48-158.70 L/pc or 68.52 L/m 2 of fabric, on average, which is mainly contributed by the dewaxing process. Implementing cleaner production, hence, is central to increase water use efficiency.