An ecological economy requires changes in consumption as much as in production. Most discussion about consumption and environment, however, remains fairly superficialusually focused either on reducing consumption, or on selection of higher quality products. In fact, ecological economics requires a basic transformation in both the character and organization of consumption. As discussed earlier, this involves the redefinition of consumption in a more non-material way, as services to meet welldefined needs; and also its reorganization to assure cyclical flows and the elimination of waste. Reduction and quality are essential, of course, but they can only be sufficiently achieved in the context of a more basic transformation of the purpose, content and organization of consumption. Many social and environmental commentators react sceptically to the idea of consumption being so central to economic reform, and for good reason. A common tactic of the industrial establishment is to deflect responsibility for social and environmental improvement onto private consumers, thereby avoiding essential changes in production and regulation. This kind of preoccupation with private consumerism is simply a means of subordinating consumption to production, since it does nothing to deal with the basic production-for-productions-sake (accumulationist) character of the economy. It