Abstract
This study assessed the consumer’s participation and behavior in the plastic bag campaign in the country. Participant observation and assessment were conducted among 396 shoppers at 3 different stores (i.e. hypermarket, supermarket, and convenience store) around Kuala Lumpur. Half of the shoppers in this study were observed purchased plastic bags (52%, n = 206) while shopping. They are mainly the supermarket (66.7%) and hypermarket visitors (54.5%). Meanwhile, 48% (n = 190) of shoppers did not purchase plastic bags and mainly the visitors of the convenience store (52.3%). Most of the male shoppers purchase plastic bags while shopping (55.2%, 96 out of 174). Only 49.5% of female shoppers (n = 110) purchase plastic bags. This study also highlights 63.9% of the consumers who shopped in a group usually pay for plastic bags. High participation was observed among visitors of the convenience store (N = 86, 65.2%) and those who shopped alone (N = 151, 52.4%). There is a significant association between shoppers' participation in the “no plastic bag campaign” with the type of retailers (X²=38.075, p=<0.001) and shopped alone (X²=0.177, p=<0.001). Participation in the campaign was not associated with gender, ethnicity, time, and week of shopping. In conclusion, the observation of consumer behaviors and participation in the plastic bag campaign was considered as low and need for further encouragement.
Highlights
Plastic bags have been introduced in the 1970s and widely used among households, retailers and consumers since (Chitotombe, 2014)
Socio-demographic Background There is a significant difference in the gender of shoppers observed where females are the majority of them (n = 222, 56.1%)
They are mainly shopped in the supermarket (40.1%) and hypermarket (38.7%) whereas the male shoppers were mainly shopped at the convenience store (48.9%) (Table 1)
Summary
Plastic bags have been introduced in the 1970s and widely used among households, retailers and consumers since (Chitotombe, 2014). It was estimated around 500 billion plastic bags are used every year worldwide (Adane & Muleta, 2011). According to Jambeck and his associates in 2015, Malaysia is ranking eighth out of 192 coastal countries in the world for the largest producing mismanaged plastic wastes. It was observed that 95% probability of an increase in earth temperatures over the past 50 years is because of human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) (Global Climate Change (GCC), 2018). Leaching of toxic chemicals resulting from the breakdown of plastic materials and potential of hormone level disruption in animals and would be later consumed by humans (Ritch, Brennanand & Macleod, 2009: Aldred, 2007)
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