Wax printed cotton textiles, also referred to as Dutch wax prints or sometimes Ankara, have been used for fashionable garments in West and Central Africa since the late nineteenth century. The technique originally used for wax print cottons was inspired by the Indonesian method of batik, where hot wax is used to draw patterns on a plain cloth before it is dyed. In the nineteenth century, European manufacturers mimicked the batik process by block-printing resin onto the cloth before dying. Today, the cloths are usually printed with rollers in a fully mechinaised process.
These printed cottons have often stood as a method of communication, as many of the pattern designs hold particular meanings that refer to the sentiments or situation of the wearer. Designs were often created in a collaborative manor between consumer, dealer and manufacturer. The Biden Harris Inauguration Cloth was made to mark the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party in the US election in November 2020.