Perceived risks of chemicals in consumer products in the European Union: Clothing textiles

Perceived risks of chemicals in consumer products in the European Union: Clothing textiles Ispra meeting June 15-16, 2009 Lennart Sjöberg Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Background • ”Chemicals” found to be perceived as very risky in previous, now dated, research • Study was conducted to update knowledge about risk perception of chemicals in consumer products • Respondents from all member states in the EU Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Very large differences among product types • ”Chemicals” per se do not seem to be uniquely risky • Synthetic fabrics somewhat risky • Natural fabrics clearly less risky, supporting the importance of ”naturalness” for risk perception Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Three clusters of countries: • Nordic countries and Germany (both East and West) • Southern and Baltic countries (Italy, France, Romania and Baltic countries) • Central and Eastern Europe • Unclear reasons for some of the placements Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Multi-modal distribution • Many respondents saw no or very few risks • A minority (about 10 percent) appeared to be alarmed • Results agree with previous work showing most people unconcerned about risks • See Sjöberg, L. (2006). Rational risk perception: Utopia or dystopia? Journal of Risk Research, 9(6), 683-696. Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Effects of education opposite to expectation • Possible reason: Question asked about knowledge, not belief or perceived risk • Interesting topic for further research Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

More demographics • Leftist political orientation was associated with checking more items as risky • In larger households more items were checked as risky Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Most variation among countries – 60 % - is on the average due to the level of responding • In some cases there is additional variation among contries: • Interior paints • Timber preservatives • Laundry or dishwashing detergents • Fabrics of wool, cotton or linen Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Summary Question 1 • The items seen as most risky were pesticides/herbicides and cleaners, while toothpaste, fabrics and sunscreens were relatively seldom checked as risky • There were large differences among countries in level of perceived riskiness, but strong intercorrelations implying very similar rank orders, and a tendency towards three clusters of nations • The distribution of the index of perceived risk was multimodal, with most people checking no or very few items and a subgroup checking many items • Women had a higher level of perceived risk than men, but women and men had similar rank orders of items with regard to risk • The youngest and oldest age groups had a lower level of perceived risk than others • Higher education was associated with perceiving more items as risky, especially among women • Leftist political preferences were associated with checking more items as risky • In households with more children, more items were checked as risky Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Comments • Gender differences as expected • Personal risk smaller than general risk, expected • Age effects similar but weaker compared to Question 1 results Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Discussion 1 • The concept of chemicals • Natural vs man-made • Smell and taste • Known to be poisonous • Familiarity • Health promoting • Media interest • Environmental impact Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Discussion 2 • Personal risk vs general risk: control? • Level of education unexpected results, note the wording of Question 1: ”according to what you know”… • Models of risk perception suggest that several factors were not covered Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Discussion 3 • Dissatisfaction with available information • Suspicion towards industry, but low social trust over-all Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

The risk perception models indicate that more independent variables are needed Data on epistemic, not only social trust Data on perceived control: can you protect yourself from some or all chemical risks by means of prudent behaviour? More direct measurement of beliefs about the dose-response relationship (intuitive toxicology) Exploring the concept of “chemicals”: what are they, how can they affect your body and your health, with different types of consumer products, and what are the pertinent risk dimensions (such as interfering with Nature)? More data on policy attitudes: not only blame and responsibility but also demand for mitigation More data on emotional reactions, both negative and positive Consideration of the need for more and more accessible information: what do people really want and how can they use it? Data on a few other types of risk in order to get a “benchmark” to compare with and get some idea about the level of perceived risk in relation to other “typical” risks A focus on practical application to risk communication would be helped by information about the problems of risk communication regarding chemicals in consumer products: what is the experience of practitioners in industry and government, what previous attempts (successful or failures) have been documented in research or otherwise? Further research Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Further information about my research can be found at http://www.dynam-it.com/lennart/ Lennart Sjöberg June 2009 Ispra meeting

Perceived risks of chemicals in consumer products in the European Union: Clothing textiles