VDM Verlag Commodification and Culture: How can culture be economically used without selling it you?

In this paper it is proposed that our highly commodified society can in fact provide a means of bringing economic and cultural aspects together in a united framework without allowing culture to be purely commercialised. As today’s prosperity and quality of life can be maintained on a long-term basis only with a sustainable system, the study focuses on the need for responsible practices by entrepreneurs. The paper thus discusses the topic of commodification as well as the issue of sustainability. The exemplary clothes company Ibonica was chosen as the case study for this paper and evaluated in terms of its business conduct. Ibonica produces garments for women that combine the traditional patterns of Maya embroidery from Yucatán and modern fashion aspects. The paper attempts to draw attention to the beneficial combination of cultural and economic aspects. Additionally, criteria for the implementation of responsible practices within a company are discussed. The results suggest that entrepreneurs should make use of commodification, as consumers seem to approve of adapting culture. Nevertheless, consumers put a higher value on the quality than on the authenticity of the products, even though they do appreciate the cultural aspects. The results also show that the sustainable conduct of a business is not of importance to consumers.