Recent research and guidance provided by regulatory authorities address the growing concerns on the control of chemicals used in consumer products. In this context, this study responds to literature alerts emphasizing the need for promoting risk reduction by decreasing the use of damaging chemicals and raising public awareness on this issue. It focuses on East-Central Europe and investigates whether consumers are worried about the impact on health of chemicals, and whether they think there is enough information available in this sense. The study uses logistic regression in order to analyze the secondary data from Special Eurobarometer No. 416 (part of Eurobarometer Wave EB 81.3, European Commission, 2014), namely 27,998 interviews collected in all 28 EU countries, of which 11,460 are from East-Central Europe. The research reveals a profile of East-Central Europeans, who consider that they lack information on the topic, and identifies the most effective way of reaching these people according to their perceptions and habits. Reporting results on a representative sample in East-Central Europe, the study indicates the channels, sources of information, and trusted institutions in order to support a campaign for raising public awareness on the health impact of chemicals used in consumer products.

Volunteering is a way to express civic behavior, including pro-environmental behavior such as buying products with recycled content. The purpose of this research is to understand the differences between individuals involved in volunteering activities and individuals who have never been involved in volunteering activities. In order to do this, dimensions are analyzed by categories of public: the general public, individuals involved in volunteering activities (volunteers), and individuals who have never been involved in volunteering activities (non-volunteers). Qualitative methods, based on in-depth interviews; and quantitative methods, based on Anova, Independent Samples T tests, factor analyses, and regression analyses have been combined. The sample included 469 respondents. The general dimensions of buying decisions are: product features, social values, promotions, low risk, uniqueness, and affordable price. The volunteers’ dimensions of buying decisions are product features, social values, uniqueness, benefits, and promotions. The non-volunteers’ dimensions of buying decisions are product features, uniqueness, credibility support, promotions, and low risk. In the conclusions section, implications are presented using specific communication for each of the three public categories, based on important resulting dimensions for each public.