["International Journal of Art &Design Education, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThe discussion examines the emerging ecological critique of art education, which frames artistic production, especially in the plastic arts, as environmentally unsustainable due to its reliance on non‐essential material consumption. I argue that this critique, while contemporary in form, echoes long‐standing philosophical concerns, beginning with Plato's dismissal of art as wasteful and socially detrimental. The paper challenges the conclusion that art education is ecologically unjustifiable by drawing on the aesthetics of Kant and Dewey. Both philosophers present aesthetic experience as a mode of disinterested and perceptually rich engagement with the world. On this basis, I propose that art education cultivates non‐instrumental attention and anti‐consumerist dispositions, aligning it with ecological aims rather than opposing them. The paper concludes by outlining implications for environmentally attuned art education practices.\n"]