DESIGN INTERVENTION: MICROPLASTICS
Summary
Despite efforts to mitigate plastic pollution, production and consumption remain steady, increasing microplastic contamination across ecosystems and the food chain. This research proposes a behaviour change framework to reveal microplastic consumption through food, drawing on the Transtheoretical Model, Elaboration Likelihood Model, and Cognitive Dissonance Theory. A design intervention reimagines the supermarket checkout experience—through redesigned receipts and a shopping app—to promote transparency about microplastic levels in food, encouraging consumer reflection and industry accountability.
(Left) Redesigned receipt featuring a microplastics diagnosis on the back and (right) integration of the “My Microplastics” section within the supermarket app
The design concept
My Microplastics integrates into the grocery shopping experience through the checkout process and the supermarket’s digital platforms. It raises awareness of microplastic intake and related health impacts by visualizing microplastic content in purchased products. The intervention is grounded in a theoretical framework for behaviour change that informs its design and user experience.
The framework
The behaviour change framework combines the Transtheoretical Model, Elaboration Likelihood Model, and Cognitive Dissonance Theory to move consumers from unawareness to awareness of microplastic consumption. It raises awareness through informative and emotional messaging (ELM), prompting self-reflection and dissonance (CDT) that encourage attitude and behaviour change toward reduced microplastic intake.
The check-out procedure - Receipt
The redesigned receipt communicates microplastic presence and related health risks using a four-smiley toxicity scale, brief health “diagnoses,” and a QR code linking to further information via the supermarket app.
For this, The design uses critical design principles to prompt reflection on the hidden health costs of microplastic consumption, with adaptable versions for shortened and digital receipts to maintain relevance and educational impact.
The mobile application
The second part of the design intervention extends My Microplastics into the supermarket’s mobile app to address the limits of shortened and digital receipts while deepening consumer education.
The app provides a detailed microplastic intake “diagnosis” linked to users’ purchases, organized into three sections:
(1) how microplastics enter food,
(2) personal intake levels and related health risks, and
(3) practical steps to reduce consumption through
product alternatives and packaging awareness
Mirroring the receipt’s color-coded toxicity scale, the app visualizes individual progress and encourages self-reflection. Grounded in the behavioural framework, it guides users from unawareness to contemplation by fostering cognitive dissonance and promoting ongoing engagement for lasting attitude and behaviour change.
Framework for Microplastic consumption awareness-raising
Visualization of the range of toxicity and indication of amounts of microplastics
(Left) Front of a standard receipt. (Right) Back of the redesigned receipt with microplastics diagnosis.
(Left) Shortened standard receipt. (Right) Back of the redesigned receipt with brief microplastics diagnosis.
(Left) visualization of home page with My Microplastics integration and (right) starting page for My Microplastics
Visualization of microplastics information pages
Visualization of overview of the integration of My Microplastics in the menu, and the section My Microplastics Receipts with overall toxicity indication
The development of My Microplastics as a design intervention requires an implementation plan to ensure its effectiveness. For a detailed discussion of the implementation strategy, framework limitations, and full design concept, the complete report can be requested here.
Design for Behaviour Change
April - July, 2024
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