Choose a, b, c, or d for the correct answer.

The following text is for questions numbers 15-16.

We are announcing today that we are bringing the Milestone and Ever Green brands even closer together. Effective as of December 5, 2005, our official name will be: GREEN MILES WEST The substitution of "West" in our name-replacing "California"­ is the result of an agreement we reached with California Gardening Association, following a protest over the original use of "California" in our name. We hope this does not create any confusion among our loyal consumers. While this represents a change from our initial name introduction, it does not change the quality of products we offer to our consumers.

". . . it does not change the quality of the products we offer . . ." (the last sentence).

The underlined word means ....