This paper explores the implications for ecological economics of the idea of consumption as a social activity. Consumers are regarded as skilled social agents organizing ′consumption activities′ and capable of introducing innovations into the process of life-enjoyment. An analytical framework for analyzing production and consumption interaction is introduced and in this way a comparison with the results of traditional growth theory is made possible. Since consumers are skilled social agents, it follows that social structures and social relations are important in determining the amount and the quality of the environmental impacts deriving from economic activities. Therefore, the analysis of social relations plays a fundamental role in ecological economics and in policy proposals. In particular, the question of skills and structural externalities is addressed, along with the question of the social and institutional preconditions for the development of service markets.
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