Green consumption and plastic waste: a multilevel analysis of 28 European countries

Abstract

This study explored how cultural factors in different countries, combined with individual factors (perception of environmental risk, perception of climate change, individual support for plastic waste policies, and environmental attitudes), can influence the adoption of green consumption practices designed to minimize plastic waste. Multilevel modeling was used to determine whether the levels of green consumption among 26,994 individuals from 28 European countries were influenced by these constructs. The results indicate that individual and cultural factors influence green consumption practices aimed at minimizing plastic waste, with 11.4% of the variance explained by differences across countries. At the individual level, perceived environmental risk, perceived climate change, environmental attitude, and policy support have positive effects. Regarding national culture, long-term orientation has a positive effect, while individualism, indulgence, and uncertainty avoidance have negative effects. The moderating effects show that risk perception reduces the effect of uncertainty aversion, while support for environmental policies strengthens long-term orientation and mitigates the negative effect of individualism. The results indicate that cultural values influence the effectiveness of individual determinants of green consumption. Risk perception reduces resistance in contexts of high uncertainty aversion, while support for environmental policies strengthens pro-environmental behaviors, even in individualistic societies. These findings suggest that effective interventions depend on alignment between cognitive mechanisms and cultural structures, highlighting that public policies can offset cultural barriers to pro-environmental consumption.