As Thai silk has gained popularity among Japanese, Indonesia is seeking ways to have its batik follow suit.
At a recent batik seminar in Tokyo, prominent batik designer Iwan Tirta repeated his calls for establishment of an authorized batik mark to prove the authenticity of the products to promote global sales.
"Many printed batiks are sold as if they are real ones," Iwan said. "If there is such an Indonesian batik mark, even people who don't know about real Indonesian batik can recognize what a real one is."