Garcia-Vazquez Eva, Garcia-Ael Cristina, Mesa Maritza Librada Caceres, Rodriguez Noemi, Dopico Eduardo
Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia UNED, Madrid, Spain.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jan 11;13:1027336. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1027336. eCollection 2022.
Microplastics (MP) threaten all organisms worldwide. MP are produced directly as microbeads in cosmetics and hygiene products, or indirectly from breakage of larger plastics. The control of MP requires consumers' engagement to refuse products containing microbeads.
We conducted a survey on 572 university students from Mexico and Spain, two countries where microbeads are not banned yet. More strict laws for plastic control areenforced in Mexico than in Spain.
Controlling for age and education, despite knowing less about MP, Mexicans checked for microbeads on product labels more frequently than Spaniards, and desired to reduce MP consumption more. A stronger correlation between individual awareness and willingness of MP control was found for Mexican than for Spanish students.
Perhaps more strict legislation against plastics creates an environment favorable to MP control. Unclear statement of microbeads on labels was the main reason for not checking microbead contents; environmental education and a stricter control of plastics and MP were identified as necessary policy changes in the two countries. Corporation engagement on clearer product labeling is also suggested.
微塑料（MP）对全球所有生物都构成威胁。微塑料在化妆品和卫生用品中直接作为微珠产生，或由较大塑料的破碎间接产生。控制微塑料需要消费者参与拒绝含有微珠的产品。
我们对来自墨西哥和西班牙的572名大学生进行了一项调查，这两个国家尚未禁止微珠。墨西哥对塑料控制的法律比西班牙更严格。
在控制年龄和教育程度的情况下，尽管墨西哥人对微塑料的了解较少，但他们比西班牙人更频繁地检查产品标签上的微珠，并更希望减少微塑料的消费。与西班牙学生相比，墨西哥学生的个人意识与微塑料控制意愿之间的相关性更强。
也许更严格的塑料立法创造了有利于微塑料控制的环境。标签上微珠的表述不清晰是不检查微珠含量的主要原因；环境教育以及对塑料和微塑料更严格的控制被确定为这两个国家必要的政策变化。还建议企业参与使产品标签更清晰。
