Elicit: Consumer Attitudes Towards Microplastics (public)

Consumer Attitudes Towards Microplastics

Key factors influencing consumer attitudes toward microplastics

Key factors influencing consumer attitudes toward microplastics include environmental and health consciousness, demographic characteristics (gender, age, education level), and social-cultural elements such as media narratives, collectivist values, and national policy.

Abstract

Studies indicate that consumer attitudes toward microplastics are chiefly influenced by environmental and health consciousness. Many papers report that clearer knowledge and greater awareness of microplastic risks increase concerns about both personal health and the environment, which in turn boost consumers’ willingness to change their practices. A number of studies note that women typically express higher levels of concern and are more likely to adopt pro‐environmental behaviors than men; likewise, younger and more educated individuals tend to demonstrate stronger positive attitudes and intentions compared with older or less educated groups.

Several papers also point to social and cultural factors—including media narratives, collectivist values, and the influence of national policy—that shape these attitudes. One study reported that 88.7% of participants were willing to adopt new practices and another noted that 94.6% supported policy measures, though many studies also record a gap between stated willingness and actual behavior change. Collectively, the evidence supports the view that more robust awareness, clearer communication of risks, and interventions tailored to demographic and cultural contexts are associated with shifts in consumer attitudes toward microplastics.

Methods

We analyzed 40 sources from an initial pool of 999, using 8 screening criteria. Each paper was reviewed for 5 key aspects that mattered most to the research question.

Papers identified with Elicit search

Papers screened using:

Papers screened out

Papers included for extraction

Paper search

Using your research question “What are the key factors influencing changes in consumer attitudes towards microplastics across different demographic groups?”, we searched across over 126 million academic papers from the Semantic Scholar corpus. We retrieved the 999 papers most relevant to the query.

Screening

We screened in sources based on their abstracts that met these criteria:

We considered all screening questions together and made a holistic judgment about whether to screen in each paper.

Data extraction

We asked a large language model to extract each data column below from each paper. We gave the model the extraction instructions shown below for each column.

Study Design Type

Identify the primary research design used in the study. Look in the methods section for an explicit description of the study type.

Possible categories include:

If the design is not clearly stated, review the methodology and data collection approach to determine the most appropriate classification. If uncertain, note "Design not clearly specified" and provide a brief explanation of the study approach.

Sampling Method

Locate the sampling technique in the methods section. Specifically extract:

Demographic Composition

Extract demographic information about study participants, focusing on:

Key Factors Influencing Microplastic Attitudes

Systematically extract factors identified as influencing consumer attitudes towards microplastics. Look in results and discussion sections.

Categorize factors into:

Consumer Behavioral Intentions

Extract specific details about consumer behavioral intentions related to microplastics:

Results

Characteristics of Included Studies

Study Study Design Population/Demographics Geographic Location Primary Outcome Measures Full text retrieved
Deng et al., 2020 Quantitative descriptive study Partial: Shanghai; gender and occupation noted Shanghai, China Public perceptions, willingness to reduce microplastics, influencing factors No
Moon et al., 2023 Cross-sectional survey Partial: US, China, Korea US, China, Korea Consumer concern, willingness to pay for safer seafood, cultural/attitudinal factors No
Praveena, 2024 Quantitative descriptive study Partial: Malaysia; gender, occupation, location Malaysia Awareness, willingness to reduce emissions, policy support No
Kramm et al., 2022 Quantitative descriptive study Partial: Germany; sample size: 1027 Germany Risk perception, role of awareness, knowledge, media No
Dagiliūtė et al., 2023 Cross-sectional survey Partial: Europe; gender, age, income Europe Attitudes, behaviors, demographic predictors No
Felipe-Rodriguez et al., 2024 Cross-sectional survey Partial: Norway; sample size: 699; gender, age Norway Worry about microplastics, risk perception, personal values No
Yusuf and Elias, 2023 Cross-sectional survey Age 18+; 68% female; 67.7% employed Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia Knowledge, perception, practice, sociodemographic factors Yes
Barrientos et al., 2024 Quantitative descriptive study Average age 43; 70% female; metropolitan Chile Chile Consumer preferences, willingness to pay for mitigation technology, information effects Yes
Harvey et al., 2025 Cross-sectional survey Parents/parents-to-be; sample size: 300 Canada Knowledge, willingness to change, sources of exposure No
Seifi et al., 2025 Randomized controlled trial Women 18+; all female; sample size: 136 Iran Effect of mobile app education on knowledge, attitudes, practices No

Synthesis and Limitations