Focus on accessible packaging
A growing focus on accessibility
In recent years, accessibility has become more and more central in product development, especially in innovative areas such as the digital environment, thus involving the development of websites, applications and technologies used by people with disabilities.
The focus of companies is on products and their usability as well, and accessibility involves product packaging, too. This is one of the reasons why, in 2015, the Ethical Packaging Charter was born from a shared idea between Luciana Guidotti and Stefano Lavorini (Edizioni Dativo) and Giovanni Baule and Valeria Bucchetti (Milan Polytechnic).
Specifically, point 4 of the Charter about accessibility says that an accessible packaging is “the user-friendly packaging: where packaging is capable of ‘easily’ explaining itself to the user. Packaging is accessible when it is user-friendly and intuitive, and thus takes into account every customer’s right to be able to approach, understand and use a product.”
For years, therefore, brands have been revamping their packaging to make it more inclusive. It is not only an ethical choice: by creating more approachable packaging solutions, in fact, the brands can extend their consumer base, demonstrate a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs and promote a more inclusive market, strengthening their brand and, ultimately, increasing revenues.
Three examples from three different sectors
Sam Upton of Two Sides UK, partner of Burgo Group, collected three significant examples of accessible packaging.
Pharmaceutical packaging
Pharmaceutical packaging is often hard to open, mainly for child-safety reasons.
However, this also affects people with disabilities, who may find it difficult to open a medicine pack by themselves. Thankfully, some companies are designing safe pharma packaging that can be opened with one hand.
One of those, SnapSlide, is an adaptive packaging solution that features a sliding two-step opening procedure for single-handed opening and closing.
This packaging, 27% lighter than other industries average, is developed on the “no-torque cap” principle, that requires significantly less force to operate and only one hand to open and close, while maintaining the CPSC child-resistant criteria.
“The SnapSlide prescription vial caps have the potential to be better for all and life-changing for many,” said Rocky Batzel, inventor and CEO of SnapSlide. “For consumers with physical limitations, the cap provides convenience, accessibility, safety and independence.”?
Food packaging
Food and its packaging, of course, must also be as accessible as possible.
A few Indian divisions of Mc Donald's, in particular across southern and western India, now offer their customers the choice of accessible burger packaging that’s designed to make it easier to open for people with limb-related disabilities.
Since more than 21 million people across India live with a disability, with over a quarter of those living with disabilities related to movement, there was a clear need to design packaging that’s easier to use for people with mobility issues related to the upper limbs.
EatQual (this is the catchy name of the packaging) has been developed in 2021 and designed to help customers with upper-limb disabilities, helping them to eat burgers using one hand.
The product launch was also accompanied by an interesting commercial, which can be viewed at this link.
Gaming packaging
The world of gaming has been traditionally precluded to people with motor disabilities, but first Microsoft and then Sony worked on meeting their needs.
Sony launched a few months ago the PlayStation Access controller, a highly customisable PlayStation 5 controller kit designed to make gaming more accessible.
This controller, with its peculiar circular shape, features interchangeable buttons and sticks, the possibility to connect dedicated external peripherals and a rather accessible software, which allows the customisation of every single input.
When designing the new controller, Sony also developed the controller’s packaging to enable players with disabilities to open with one hand.
The controller comes in a box featuring loops that can be pulled from the left or right side, allowing consumers to easily slide the controller out of its packaging. On the inside of the pack are additional loops and a single layer of slots for the kit components, including 19 interchangeable button caps and three stick caps for easy identification and access.
The road to accessible packaging is long, but companies are moving in the right direction.
Furthermore, it is up to paper companies to develop appropriate materials that can be easily transformed into sustainable and accessible packaging.
Sources