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The packaging industry's significant role in plastic production and environmental pollution underscores the need for more sustainable alternatives. Bioplastics emerge as a promising solution, yet consumer understanding of this innovative material often lags, particularly in emerging markets. This study thus aims to explore effective marketing strategies for communicating bioplastic packaging to shape consumer adoption and disposal practices in such markets. Through a case study approach, we examine the role of ecolabels as a marketing tool across key sectors of the bioplastic packaging supply chain. Drawing upon the signalling theory, we identify key characteristics of effective signals, including costly signalling, visibility, clarity, fitness, consistency and credibility, which should be integrated into a broader context of ecolabels design in order to encourage consumer adoption and responsible disposal. Our study also identifies instances where noises from the environment may have little impact and where communication gaps hinder feedback loops between consumers and producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although science diplomacy has been gaining relevance in foreign policy to solve environmental challenges, critical questions concerning what different instruments mean under the term 'science diplomacy' and whether science diplomacy does contribute to the progress in solving environmental issues remain unanswered. We explore those questions by linking science diplomacy salient features through documentary analysis of international instruments addressing the plastics pollution in the ocean. We find that from a science diplomacy and multi-level governance perspective, the responsibilities and capabilities of emergent actors of cross-level governance are also important, leading to more attention being paid to changes in the role of national authorities, away from passive leadership to cross-cutting coalitions supported by the salient features of science diplomacy, and redefining dominant discursive approaches that have framed plastics waste. Points for practitioners: As a result of the cost and limitations of the current international mechanisms, there is currently no incentive for individual countries to take action against marine plastic pollution. Science diplomacy and multi-level governance can contribute to international cooperation, foreign policy and national strategies. Leading efforts to engage countries with fewer scientific and technological capabilities could benefit countries' foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the rapid growth of sustainable innovations in bioplastics for packaging industries, their diffusion into established markets has so far been hampered by ambiguous and asymmetrical communication between bioplastics producers and consumers (both businesses and end consumers), particularly related to bioplastics materials and their waste disposal procedures. This study looks into the communication processes, identifies barriers and investigates business strategies that can be adopted by bioplastic packaging industries to influence consumer adoption and proper disposal behaviour of bioplastic packaging. Based on a systematic review of 68 journal articles and guided by the signalling theory, the study found that connections with various signallers at the end‐of‐life of bioplastic packaging materials are required beyond the purview of the industrial sectors utilising the packaging. The paper proposes a conceptual framework incorporating new signal constructs specific to consumer‐facing sustainable innovation. The framework extends the signalling theory to be used as part of the bioplastic packaging industry's business strategy. The paper also emphasises the importance of altering the communication mechanisms in order to boost bioplastics industrial practices, which will subsequently contribute to the reduction of the detrimental impacts of fossil‐based plastics on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh agricultural products (FAPs) require special handling to maintain product quality, especially during socio-economic crises. In developing countries, there is a compelling need for a robust supply chain governance strategy to regulate the supply chain actors involved in the logistics and distribution system. This paper proposes an innovative way to design FAP logistics governance to address specific problems in the FAP logistics networks of developing countries, where FAP supply chains are not well integrated. Three logistics governance scenarios were modelled using discrete-event simulation. The results revealed that the fully distributed governance could effectively reduce process delay and consequently minimise logistics costs, especially within the logistics networks serving multiple markets. This is due to that fact that the distributed governance allows the actors involved in the network to have some autonomy to manage their resources. The paper contributes to improving the fundamental understanding of the governance for FAP logistics networks consisting of small-holder farms. Our work also offers valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners into how to improve FAP supply chain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]