Are Malaysians Aware? The Consumer Awareness on Harmful Chemicals in Household Products

Abstract

Detergents, cosmetics, and food are just a few examples of everyday products and household items that include chemicals. Chemical-free items are difficult to produce since chemicals are necessary for some performances. Despite emphasising their uses, it cannot be denied that chemicals negatively impact human health and the environment. However, because chemicals are a part of our daily lives, we become so accustomed to them that we often disregard and forget about their negative effects. This study will examine consumer knowledge of dangerous chemical items. In this research, the factors that influence health awareness will be discussed. The study will examine two factors affecting the consumers' awareness: The information factor and the personal factor. The information factor includes commercial sources, neutral sources, and social sources. The personal factors are interest in health information and attitudes toward harmful chemicals. The research was done by collecting feedback from 187 youth aged 18 to 40 in Malaysia who are now managing a household. An online questionnaire with a 5-Likert rating scale is used to collect the data. The result of the study indicated that neutral sources, social sources, interests and attitudes will affect the consumer awareness of the harmful household chemical. On the other hand, commercial sources will not affect youth awareness of harmful household chemical products. This study can understand Malaysians’ awareness level towards harmful chemicals and thus find effective ways to increase the awareness among Malaysians.