Indonesian Minister Sees Export Potential for Eco-Friendly Fashion and Crafts
Indonesian Industry Minister Muhammad Sarmuji said on October 24 that growing concern about environmental sustainability offers export opportunities for small businesses making eco-friendly fashion and crafts. Reaching those buyers, he said, will require digital marketing, reliable quality and closer ties with tourism and trade promotion networks.
Natural materials and overseas demand
Speaking in Jakarta, Sarmuji said products made from natural materials have a distinctive appeal abroad. He urged Indonesia's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to build relationships with environmental action communities, both as potential customers and as groups that can explain the products' qualities to other buyers.
"The marketing opportunity is very wide open because environmental and health issues are now a public concern, a focus not only for Indonesians but for people worldwide," he said.
Figures for the broader handicraft industry show export growth. Ministry of Industry data reported by Shangbao Indonesia on October 9 put exports at US$223.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 28.59 percent from US$173.5 million a year earlier.
The United States accounted for about 28 percent of Indonesian handicraft exports in January-June 2026, making it the largest destination, according to the ministry, citing Trade Map data. Taiwan, China, Japan and the Netherlands followed.
Reaching customers online and through tourism
Sarmuji said digital tools let artisans sell across borders with less reliance on traditional distribution channels. Even producers working in villages can make their goods known internationally through information technology, he said. That reach must be matched by consistent quality control, new designs and products suited to the intended market.
He also identified foreign visitors as an important market for locally made fashion and natural-material souvenirs. Taking advantage of tourism demand would require MSMEs, tourism businesses and international trade networks to work together, he said.
Separately, the ministry reported that eight craft MSMEs supported by its Directorate General of Small, Medium and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA) generated Rp313 million in transactions during the five-day Kriyanusa national craft exhibition in 2026. The exhibition hosted 257 exhibitors in 410 booths.
Connecting businesses with export support
Sarmuji suggested linking MSME products with the Trade Ministry's International Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) facilities to give producers access to overseas promotion and buyer networks.
The centers form part of a wider export promotion network. At Trade Expo Indonesia, held October 14-18, 2026, Trade Minister Budi Santoso said Indonesia had 46 trade representative offices across 33 countries. The network includes trade attachés, ITPCs, the trade consul in Hong Kong, the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (KDEI) in Taipei and Indonesia's ambassador to the World Trade Organization.
Kadin Indonesia Chairman Anindya Novyan Bakrie called on October 22 for greater cooperation between the business organization and overseas ITPCs to promote Indonesian goods to international buyers.
Business matching has also brought in companies new to exporting. According to Santoso's June 2026 account, Indonesia's MSME business matching program recorded US$134.8 million in transactions in 2025, equivalent to more than Rp2 trillion. About 70 percent of participants had never exported before.
Trade expo targets and reported results
Trade Expo Indonesia opened with registered buyers from 134 countries and 1,873 exhibitors, according to Santoso. Organizers targeted 30,000 visitors and US$17.5 billion in potential transactions. On the first day, Indonesian exporters signed 168 memoranda of understanding with buyers from 22 countries.
Anindya said on October 22 that the expo had recorded US$22.8 billion in potential transactions within one week.