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Packaging for all ages
French Packaging Council
– All Rights Reserved – October 2016
1
Table of contents
Foreword: A Message from the Chairman
3
Summary
4
1. OBJECTIVES/CONTEXT
1.1
Objectives
1.2
Context
5
5
5
2. RULES AND REGULATIONS
2.1. Information visibility and legibility – General Principles
2.2. A few regulations
2.3. Criminal sanctions
6
6
8
14
3. STANDARDS
3.1
Standards relative to the consumers’ use and/or safety
3.2
Standards relative to information legibility
3.3
Standards on packaging and the environment
15
15
16
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4. OVERVIEW THROUGH EXAMPLES
4.1. Protecting the consumer through use
4.2. Informing the consumer through packaging
4.3. Accessing the product: the consumer’s use
19
21
23
24
5. PERSPECTIVE/FIELD OF INVESTIGATION
38
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
39
7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
40
French Packaging Council
– All Rights Reserved – October 2016
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Foreword: A Message from the Chairman
Today, the marketers’ target consumers are healthy adults.
They should be healthy and have good eyesight, as reading the information written on the packaging –
although it strictly complies with regulations – is often tricky.
However, middle-aged consumers with good eyesight are not the only players in the game.
Other players are toddlers who you wish only had a limited access to all household products; the elderly
whose eyesight, though corrected, has become – along with their hands – weak and hesitant; and disabled
people, of all ages and all kinds, with poor eyesight and/or weak upper limbs.
Even the so-called “normal” consumers can legitimately wonder about how some packages work. Unless
your nails are sharp and strong, you sometimes even need a tool to help you open a package.
In a nutshell, packaging is not always easy to use, either intentionally in order to restrict access to its
contents, or unintentionally because of the personal limited abilities of individual consumers.
The senior age group is most affected by this issue as its share in the overall population keeps increasing.
According to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies’ forecasts (INSEE), one
French person out of three will be 60 and over in 2060!
This document aims at reviewing all the solutions brought by marketers and to shed light on the fields
where improvements should and need to be made.
Michel Fontaine
Chairman of CNE
French Packaging Council
– All Rights Reserved – October 2016
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Summary
In its methodological handbook about eco-friendly product/packaging pairs, the CNE recalled that one of
the six key aspects of any developing processes is taking into account how the consumer and end user will
use the product. There is no unique packaging solution for a given product: you need to know the
expectations and capabilities of the consumer in order to define the packaging characteristics, including its
shape, materials and weight.
We will seize the opportunity of this document to map the different consumer uses by giving examples of
what can be considered as best practices to implement and what practices should be improved.
The CNE conveys a strong message and reminds the marketers that they have to see consumer use as a
priority when they design packages.
This document also shows the importance of limitations linked to the consumers themselves – sociology,
population pyramid, disabled consumers, etc.
Package designing should also remain within a rules and regulations framework that governs the industry
and considers both the environment and consumer acceptability.
We will show examples of “packaging for all ages” that have been analyzed according to the normal
functions of use expected for the target consumers’ age group (children, elderly, etc.) and for the following
aspects:
 transportation;
 grasping;
 accessibility to the product’s information;
 product’s accessibility;
 pouring;
 end of life;
 etc.
The analysis of these examples also takes into account the disabilities of certain population groups (visual
impairment, motor deficiency). This document puts all these aspects in perspective and sheds light on
fields of investigation for the players of the packaging industry.
French Packaging Council
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1. OBJECTIVES/CONTEXT
1.1 Objectives
The first objective is to highlight and illustrate best practices of the players of the packaging value chain.
We will remind the reader of how important it is in the packaging process to consider the needs of the
consumers and end users and to describe the services provided. The age of the consumers is the main
differencing parameter in terms of the use made of the packaging (toddlers, children, adults, and elderly).
Another objective is to recall the rules and regulations relevant to this specific topic and to show that taking
them into account in the design process requires a precise balance between, for instance, the will of
reducing the environmental impact of the package and a design that is well fitted for all.
1.2 Context
Packaging is in integral part of consumers’ and end users’ daily life. It provides them with services in terms
of protection, information as well as use of the packaged product.
You will find below some sociological data that make it essential for marketers to consider this reality while
designing packaged products.
Early childhood
As babies grow up and become toddlers, they start exploring their environment and try to grasp anything
near them. Packaging should, therefore, help toddlers to safely start doing things by themselves.
On the contrary, several cases of child intoxication caused by ingestions of pharmaceutical drugs, small
objects, household products and DIY products are registered every day.
We can limit the risks of domestic accidents through awareness campaigns among consumers about the
risks associated with a series of substances as well as with warnings and proper labeling that the
manufacturers should print on their products.
Still, these measures remain insufficient if the packaging itself is not also designed as a physical barrier
between the baby and the dangerous product.
The elderly
In 2060, one person out of three in France will be 60 and over1
In 2060, 73.6 million people will inhabit mainland France, 23.6 million of which will be aged 60 and over.
This age group will represent 32.1% of the population, with an 80% increase between 2007 and 2060.
This means that the aging of the population in France should intensify between 2007 and 2060: whereas
21.5% of the population living in mainland France was 60 and over in 2007, this share should be of 30.6%
in 2035 and 32.1% in 2060.
This aging of the population comes along with increased motor disabilities and/or visual impairment that
marketers need to take into account in their business models in order to design packages that answer
these populations’ needs and requirements.
1
Source: Insee Première N°1320 October 2010.
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2. RULES AND REGULATIONS
2.1. Information visibility and legibility – General Principles
Legal framework (non-exhaustive)
Article L111-1 of the Consumer Code in France decrees for the professionals to communicate to the
consumer in an easily legible and understandable way the information about the product being sold
that are considered essential: its price, characteristics, the covers etc. Many complementary decrees
require that the compulsory information printed on the package be visible and easily legible.
However, regulations about the form that the information towards consumers should take are more and
more defined at a European level.
The European Regulation no. 1229/2009 of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products prescribes in Article
19 on labeling that “the container and packaging of cosmetic products bear the following information in
indelible, easily legible and visible lettering: the nominal content; the minimum date of durability;
the particular precautions to be observed in use” among other essential pieces of information. The
preamble to the Regulation requires that indications be easily understandable (Recital no. 48).
Under certain circumstances, these requirements about clear information can target consumers as well as
workers. The European Regulation no. 1272/2008 of 16 September 2008 (called CLP2) on classification,
labeling and packaging of chemical substances and mixtures applies whoever the end user may be (see §
2.2.2.2 below). This Regulation requires information to be written in a clear and indelible way. (Article
31.3).
The information provided to the consumer should be:
- understandable = the text is not abstruse and pictograms are explicit;
- visible
= you can tell that some information is given (you can find it quickly, it
is not hidden);
- easily legible
= you can read the text without any difficulties.
When information is not clear, it is most often because the characters are too small. The Regulation no.
1272/2008 CLP requires that particulars“shall stand out clearly from the background and be of such size
and spacing as to be easily read.” By clear is also meant that the text should match the rules of usage of
the written language. The Regulation no. 1272/2008 CLP therefore decrees that labels shall be readable
horizontally when the package is set down normally (Article 31 1).
The Regulation no. 1169/2011 called INCO on the provision of food information to consumers takes these
requirements a step further as it regulates the size of the characters based on the size of the letter “x”
(see § 2.2.2.1 below).
2
Classification, Labeling and Packaging: Classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures.
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Graphic Standard
Certain pieces of information must comply with a graphic standard that can either be framed by a
regulation or by a contractual agreement between two parties.
In any case, the graphic standard aims to communicate information that should be understandable
immediately by the person who reads it and sees in it a sign that is full of meaning.
An example of a regulation graphic standard: the “EC” labeling
An example of a contractual graphic standard: the “Green Dot” which means that the company has
financially contributed with Eco-Emballages to the recovery of the package at the end of its lifecycle. This
logo is designed according to a graphic standard that can include variants depending on the color, the size
and the distribution circuit of the packaged product.
Synthesis
The regulatory provisions on the font size or on the color contrasts are not the same in all regulations.
However, a general legal rule can be drawn out of them: information should not be dissimulated, veiled,
truncated or separated by other indications or images that may be detrimental to the clarity of the
message. The more dangerous the product is, the more firmly the regulation applies.
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2.2. A few regulations
2.2.1. Crosscutting regulations
2.2.1.1 Packaging and Environment
European Directive no. 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
The directive sets out essential requirements3:
- to limit the weight and volume of packaging to a minimum in order to meet the required level of
-
safety, hygiene and acceptability for consumers;
to reduce the content of hazardous substances and materials in the packaging material and its
components;
to design reusable or recoverable packaging.
These requirements are both aimed at prevention by source reduction of packaging and at dealing
with the issue of the recovery of used packaging from the early design stages. They have been
transposed to France in articles R543-42 to R543-53 of the Environmental Code.
They are framed among others by the notion of acceptability for the consumer – which is one of the critical
points provided for in European Standard EN 13428 on source reduction - which in other words sets the
limit above which reducing packaging further would prevent it from fulfilling the function the consumer
expects it to serve. The CNE reminds us of how important acceptability is for people with specific needs: a
good legibility, a good grasping of the package, an easy opening, a package fitted for an appropriate
dosing/portioning, etc. As the CNE sees it, acceptability must be carefully taken into account in order to, in
some cases, decide to design a product’s package differently from its category’s standard and find the right
balance between the packaging’s weight and the consumer’s need.
2.2.1.2. Regulation applied to pre-packaged products
Directive no. 76/211 of 20 January 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the making-up by weight or by volume of certain prepackaged products.
Decree for transposition 78-166 of 31 January 1978 completed by the decision of 20 October 1978.
According to Article 2 of the decision, any pre-packaging4 intended for sale in conditions of constant
nominal quantities expressed in units of weight or volume must bear inscriptions that are indelible, easily
legible and visible in normal conditions of presentation.
In particular, this covers the nominal quantity (nominal weight or nominal volume), expressed in kilograms,
grams, liters, centiliters or milliliters, and marked in figures of a minimum height of:
Nominal content: Directive no. 76/211/EEC (Annex I, see 3.1)
Character height
≤50g or 50ml
2 millimeters
≤200 g or 200 ml
>200 g/ml or ≤1 kg or 1liter
3 millimeters
>1kg or 1liter
6 millimeters
>50g or ml or
4 millimeters
3
See: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:l21207
For more information regarding prepackaged products: see CNE’s document “Bulk Products & Pre-Packaged
Products: Recommendations from the French Packaging Council” at
http://www.conseil-emballage.org/eng/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Produits-en-vrac-Produits-préemballés-ENrelu1.pdf
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2.2.2. Regulations dedicated to a category of products
2.2.2.1 Food products
Regulation no. 1169/2011 of 25 October 2011 called “INCO” in French5 on the provision of food
information to consumers.
According to Article 13 of the Regulation, “mandatory food information shall be marked in a conspicuous
place in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It shall
not in any way be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter
or any other intervening material. ”
The Regulation enforces the visibility via a field of vision defined as follows: “all the surfaces of a package
that can be read from a single viewing point” (Article 2.2, point k).
Thus, the name of the food, the net quantity of the food and with respect to beverages containing more
than 1.2 % by volume of alcohol, the actual alcoholic strength by volume, shall appear in the same field of
vision (Article 13.5). In a similar way, particulars of the nutrition declaration shall be presented together in
the same field of vision (Article 34.1).
Only those particulars should be presented together. The companies remain free to decide how further
elements should be presented, provided they comply with Article 13.1 that requires these particulars to be
market in a conspicuous (= visible) place.
The Regulation imposes a legibility of mandatory particulars via the size of the letter “x” based on the fact
that in letters from the same font are of a similar dimension. By enforcing a minimal height of 1.2mm for
the letter “x” you also determine the minimal size of all other letters and character fonts.
Only the x-height of the font size of particulars referred to in Article 9.1 shall be equal to or greater than
1.2 mm (Article 13).
For more details: see the ANIA-FCD Guide6 on the enforcement of Regulation INCO.
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Information to Consumers
See Guide ANIA-FCD (The French Food Industries Association - French Federation of Trade and Retail Companies) of
11 March 2013: Q&As around the enforcement of European Regulation no.1169/2011 at:http://critt-iaa-paca.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/ANIA-FCD-questions-reponses-ANIA-FCD-sur-reglement-INCO.pdf (in French)
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French Packaging Council
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2.2.2.2 Chemicals
The European Regulation no.1272/2008 of 16 December 2008 called “CLP” lays down labeling and
packaging legal requirements for chemicals.
This Regulation concerns hazardous products in the sense that they may for instance: catch fire (turpentine
oil), explode (gas bottle), oxidize (bleaching agents) or even cause cancer (ethylene).
A chemical can be more or less hazardous. The CLP Regulation lays down classification guidelines: For
instance, a liquid is:
- extremely flammable when the flash point is <23°C and the initial boiling point is ≤35°C;
- highly flammable when the flash point is <23°C and the initial boiling point is >35°C;
- Flammable when the flash point is ≥23°C and ≤60°C. From 60°C on, a liquid can be
flammable but is not considered as hazardous and thus is not regulated by CLP.
Information to users
Users are informed of the related hazards and risks with pictograms and compulsory indications.
The rules for the presentation of compulsory indications are described in §2.1 below.
Pictograms are specifically regulated. They are intended for an easy comprehension of information with
eye-catching drawings and a graphic standard that leave their marks in the user’s mind regardless of their
language, culture or knowledge. Hazard pictograms shall have a black symbol on a white background with
a red frame sufficiently wide to be clearly visible (CLP Regulation, Annex I, §1.2.1.2).
Example: pictogram for a flammable product:
The CLP Regulation demands that the color and presentation of any label shall be such that the hazard
pictogram stands out clearly (Article 31).
In addition to this, any hazard pictogram shall cover at least one fifteenth of the surface area of the
harmonized label. The minimum area shall not be less than 1 cm². The bigger the package, the greater the
dimensions of the label and the pictogram shall be (Annex 1, § 1.2.1.4).
Example:
A container of a 3L capacity or less shall bear a label of at least 52x74mm and a pictogram of at least
10x10 mm.
A container of a 50L capacity shall bear a label of at least 105x148mm and a pictogram of at least 32x32
mm.
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Specific security measures for consumers and children
The CLP Regulation applies to all chemicals with no distinction depending on the nature of the user,
manufacturer or consumer, although specific rules apply for the latter.
Article 35 of the CLP Regulation stipulates that packaging containing a hazardous substance or a mixture
supplied to the general public shall not have either a shape or design likely to attract or arouse the
active curiosity of children or to mislead consumers, or have a similar presentation or a design used
for foodstuff or animal feeding stuff or medicinal or cosmetic products, which would mislead consumers
(Regulation, Article 35.2).
The Packaging shall have a child-resistant fastening when it contains chemicals supplied to the general
public, in particular if the product:
- contains ≥3% methanol;
- poses a risk of acute toxicity for certain target organs of the body or of severe skin
corrosion;
poses an aspiration hazard and can be fatal if swallowed and enters airways.
Packaging in the form of aerosols or in a container containing products classified according to the third
example and fitted with a sealed spray attachment are not subject to the child-resistance requirement
(Regulation, Annex II, §3.1.1.2). In order to release a product conditioned in an aerosol, you have to exert
a permanent and continued pressure on the package, which is not easy for children, whereas childresistant opening are imperative for other packaging – e.g. small bottles, jars – as the contents can leave
the container once open.
Child-resistant fastenings must comply with certain standard regulations: see Chapter 3, Standards.
However, even it seems obvious that a package is childproof enough for children as they cannot have
access to its contents without a tool, the test imagined by these standards cannot be carried out
(Regulation, Annex II, §3.1.4.2).
Tactile warning of danger
Packaging supplied to the general public containing the products mentioned hereafter must carry a tactile
warning of danger:
- products with a high level of acute toxicity and products that can cause skin corrosion;
- certain products with known CMR effects - carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic – for
human;
- certain products leading to a higher sensitivity of the airways and thus causing other specific
effects to certain organs of the body or that may be hazardous if inhaled;
- extremely or highly flammable gases, liquids or solids.
(Regulation, Annex II, §3.2.1).
This provision does not apply to aerosols which are only classified as flammable aerosols. It is not
applicable to transportable gas cylinders.
The technical specifications for tactile warning devices are conform to EN ISO standard 11683 ‘Packaging
— Tactile warnings of danger-Requirements’ (Regulation, Annex II, §3.2.2.2). This standard specifically
mentions that only packaging comprised within the CLP regulation should carry tactile warnings of danger.
Therefore, packaging containing chemicals with low toxicity (e.g. washing-up liquids and gardening
products) should not be fitted with a tactile warning of danger.
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2.2.2.3 Cosmetic products
Regulation 1223/20097 of 30 November 2009.
Article 19 specifies that:
Cosmetic products shall be made available on the market only where the container and packaging of
cosmetic products bear the following information in indelible, easily legible and visible lettering:
a) the name or registered name and address of the responsible person
b) the nominal content at the time of packaging, given by weight or by volume; (Note: Specific minimum
weight and volume are defined by the French Council Directive of 20 October 1978 (cf. 2.2.1.2));
c) the date of minimum durability preceded by the symbol
or the words: ‘best used before the end of’.
Indication of the date of minimum durability shall not be mandatory for cosmetic products with a minimum
durability of more than 30 months. For such products, there shall be an indication of the period of time
after opening for which the product is safe and can be used without any harm to the consumer.
This information shall be indicated, except where the concept of durability after opening is not relevant, by
the symbol
shown in point 2 of Annex VII followed by the period (in months and/or years);
d) particular precautions to be observed in use;
These indications shall appear on a notice, label, ring or collar accompanying the product.
Unless impracticable, this information shall be referred to by the symbol
or an abbreviated
information;
e) the batch number of manufacture or the reference for identifying he cosmetic product.;
f) the function of the cosmetic product, unless it is clear from its presentation;
g) the list of ingredients.
Confusion between foodstuff and cosmetic products
The form, odor, color, appearance, packaging, labeling, volume or size should not endanger health and
safety of consumers due to confusion with foodstuff. This aspect is governed by the following Regulations:
7
-
Directive 87/357/EE Concerning products which, appearing to be other than they are,
endanger the health or safety of consumers.
-
French Decree no. 92-985 of 9 September 1992 on the prevention of risks resulting from the
use of certain products imitating foodstuff
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:342:0059:0209:en:PDF
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Examples of cosmetic products looking like foodstuffs:
bath oil:
possible confusion with beer
bath product:
possible confusion with biscuit products
Same universe of consumption: cooking.
Some products adopt similar use codes and places. But these products are very different in terms of
ultimate use. A confusion between them can lead to domestic accidents, in particular among the youngest
consumers.
Example:
Foaming hand cleanser
Fruit syrup
Cosmetics/toys borderline products
Cosmetic toys (e.g. Make-up products for dolls)
They must comply with following Regulations:
 Toys: Directive 2009/48 of 18 June 2009.
 Cosmetics: Regulation 1223/2009 of 30 November 2009.
Directive Toys, article 10 of Annex II “Particular Safety Requirements”:
Cosmetic toys, such as play cosmetics for dolls, shall comply with the compositional and labeling
requirements laid down in Council Directive 76/768 [replaced by the Cosmetic Regulation]”.
Make-up for children:
- The Toys Directive applies to “products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play
by children under 14 years of age”.
- The age criterion is not included in the definition of a cosmetic product: make-up products must comply
with both regulations.
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2.2.2.4 Medicinal products
Information to the blind: obligation for package to bear information in Braille lettering.
The transposition into French law of the Directive 2004/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council is included in Article R5121-138 of the French Public Health Code:
“Without prejudice to compliance with other legal and regulatory provisions, the labeling of the outer
packaging or, where there is no outer packaging, on the immediate packaging of a medicinal product or of
a product listed in Article L.5121-8, bears the following indications, marked in such a way as to be easily
legible, clearly understandable and indelible:
1° The name of the medicinal or other health product, the quantity received or supplied, where appropriate
the name of the designated recipient (“infants”, “children” or “adults”) and when the medicinal product
contains no more than three active substances, the common denomination(s) of said substances; the ways
and means of marking the name and the quantity supplied in Braille as well as the arrangements for
informing of the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) relative to this marking
are provided for by decision of the Agency’s General Director.[...]”
2.3. Criminal sanctions
Not complying with the provisions regulating the conditions of form relative to the presentation of
information can be punished by a fine of up to 450 euro or even 1,500 euro depending on the situation.
Note: there are as many fines as improper packaging items.
The judge can decide in a sovereign way the amount of the fine for every violation in the range of amounts
depending on the gravity and the number of non-conformances.
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3. STANDARDS8
There are many standards related to the design and the assessment of packaging’s conformity with diverse
regulations. You will be provided below with an overview of major standards (non-exhaustive).
3.1 Standards relative to the consumers’ use and/or safety
NF EN 862 (March 2006)
Child-Resistant Packaging - Requirements And Testing Procedures For Non-Reclosable Packages For NonPharmaceutical Products This Standard in under review
NF EN 14375 (April 2004)
Non-Reclosable child-Resistant Packages For Non-Pharmaceutical Products - Requirements and Testing
Procedures. This Standard in under review
BS EN ISO 8317 (February 2016)
Child-Resistant Packaging - Requirements And Testing Procedures For Reclosable Packages
The definition of a child-resistant package given in these Standards is “package consisting of a container
and appropriate closure which is difficult to open (or gain access to the contents) for young children under
the age of fifty-two months, but which is not difficult for adults to use properly”.
These




Standards define the testing procedures to assess child-resistant packages:
profile of the panel (a panel of children and a panel of adults);
age of the children (42 to 51 months for reclosable packages) and adults (50 to 70 years old);
the number of children needed to carry out the entire testing procedure;
explanations on the sequential method allowing to limit the number of children tested, etc.
NF EN ISO 13127 (December 2012)
Child resistant packaging -- Mechanical test methods for reclosable child resistant packaging systems.
This Standard aims at avoiding as much as possible unnecessary tests with children panels by proposing
mechanical testing methods. The tests to be carried out are described in this Standard for each
opening/closing systems: testing of the opening/closing torque, disassembling simulations, testing of the
rotating torque, etc.
Depending on the results of the mechanical testing, the mechanical assessment can be sufficient or on the
contrary require a testing with a panel.
XP CENT/TS 15945 (April 2011)
Ease of opening: Criteria and testing methods to assess a package intended for consumers. Experimental
standard
This standard defines the criteria to assess the ease of opening of packages intended for all adult
consumers. Testings with panels are carried out with a relatively senior population (65 to 80 years old).
Given that hand force goes down with age, if packages are easy to open for this population, they should
normally be easy to open for a youngest population.
8
Standards available at the French National Organization for Standardization (AFNOR)
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3.2 Standards relative to information legibility
Legibility is a combination of several criteria. On packages, the first limit is the reduced dimension of the
surface on with instructions and other mandatory labels should (or must) be marked.
Legibility is mentioned in certain standards or good practices guides, but most of the time these do not
give objective criteria ensuring a good legibility. Often, only general formulae mention that legibility should
be satisfying (“it shall be ensured that the legibility of instructions is satisfying”).
However, certain texts bring more precise elements to designers and marketers.
BS EN 82079-1 (December 2012)
Preparation of instructions for use. Structuring, content and presentation. General principles and detailed
requirements: a table shows the recommended minimal dimensions of police fonts and heights of graphic
symbols depending on their position, their role, the contrast, the fonts color, etc.
BP P96-104 (January 2014)
Best practices guide: “Accessibility for disabled people - Location and direction signaling systems into public
access buildings”, this last document gives advice on the presentation of the visual information: way of
writing, typography, use of uppercase and lowercase letters, use of bold letters, dimensions of the
characters, etc.
Conventions relative to the way of writing notices or information can vary depending on the profession and
the types of products.
BS EN ISO 17351 (October 2014)
Packaging. Braille on packaging for medicinal products
“The creation of a European Standard for the use of Braille on packages intended for medicinal products
(EN 15823) was motivated by a European Directive published in 2004 by the European Commission
(Council Directive no. 2004/27/EC). The said Directive requires a Braille labeling on outer packages
intended for medicinal products distributed within the European Union. In practice, this means that the
denomination of medicinal products and, where appropriate, their form and quantity, must be written in
Braille to help blind and visually impaired people. ”
Guideline9 for medicinal products (revision of July 2013)
Guideline on the notice and labeling legibility for medicinal products edited by the European Commission.
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http://ec.europa.eu/health/files/eudralex/vol-2/c/bluebox_06_2013_en.pdf
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3.3 Standards on packaging and the environment
The presumption of conformity of packaging to essential requirements of the European Directive 94/62/EC
mentioned before in section 2.2.1.1 can be established through a series of standards designed by the ECN
(European Committee for Normalization) and published in the OJEU of 19 February 2005.
Conforming to these essential requirements, while developing packaged products, includes properties of
consumer use and acceptability.
BS EN 13427 “Functionality of the packaging system”
This Standard particularly describes the procedures for using standards to build technical documentation.
BS EN 13428 “Packaging. Requirements specific to manufacturing and composition. Prevention by
source reduction”
It specifies “a method for assessing packaging to ensure that the weight and/or volume of the material
quantity contained by it was minimized while securing:
- the product’s functionality, throughout the supply chain, up until the end user;
- the product’s safety and cleanliness for the product and for the end user/consumer;
- the acceptability10 of the packaged product for the end user/consumer;
Essential requirements specify characteristics that are strictly necessary to the design of the package (e.g.
the resistance) and that should be documented with help of the CNE’s document11.
This Standard also lists the performance criteria (cf. chart below) that have to be taken into account at the
design stage of the package. Among these, and in scope of our topic, are:
-
acceptation from the end user/consumer;
information;
safety;
compliance with legislation.
All these performance criteria can be analyzed by defining the critical points where the marketer can find a
balance between the use of the product and the environment-friendliness.
For this reason, the use of the product by the consumer/the end user is part of this list of critical points
below and can be justified by appropriate testing.
10
Acceptability of the package, for the product, for the consumer and for the end user CNE-October 2010
onhttp://www.conseil-emballage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/47_1.pdf
11
Integration of requirements relative to environment in the design and manufacturing of packaging - CNESeptember 2009 onhttp://www.conseil-emballage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1_1.pdf
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The source reduction can be assessed by highlighting “critical point(s)”. Setting a “critical point” is
tantamount to showing that reducing the weight and/or the volume of the package any further would put
one or several of its main functions, called “performance criteria”, at risk.
This approach clearly shows that there cannot be for a given product a standard package and especially
that the weight or the volume of a package cannot be determined in the light of an average or a minimal
value. These values must indeed be assessed in view of the target population and its expectations and
capabilities. Some examples detailed further in this document will show that, for a same product and a
same packaging, some elements of the package can be heavier, bulkier, or that a material can be a
different from the one usually used in this industry, in order to serve an easier grasping or opening feature
for a given population.
ISO/TR 14062: 2002
“Environmental management -- Integrating environmental aspects into product design and development”
To this day, this international document - a Technical Report with the value of a Standard - describes
concepts and practices that allow to integrate environmental aspects into any design and manufacturing
approach of a product or a service.
Note: this Standard neither aims at registering the process followed by the company, nor at certifying it.
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4. OVERVIEW THROUGH EXAMPLES
This chapter includes examples of product-packaging pairings with regards to some functions expected by
the consumer. These examples are described in terms of good and poorer practices. These examples are
not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to inform the reader on the existence of packaging catering for all
consumers with more or less success.
The work group documented for instance practices relevant with regards to the topic of the document and
the consumer’s expectations; the following functions have thus been assessed:
- Protection (for the consumer);
- Information;
- Use.
For information, the CNE reminds us here of the functions of packaging.
Functions of packaging (Non-exhaustive list)

-



-
-
Containing and preserving the content
It needs to protect:
The external environment from the product contained (limit risks of leak, block solvent evaporation
to protect the user’s health, prohibit dangerous use for children, etc.),
The content from external constraints (limit damage caused by mechanical shocks, reduce transfers
of undesirable flavors and odors, prevent air or oxygen-induced deterioration, obstruct the
penetration of germs, insects and undesired materials, prevent the content to be stolen or
consumed before the purchase, maximize the shelf-life of perishable goods, etc.).
Informing
Provide general and legal information (use by date, storage temperature, instructions,
dosage/dosage unit, composition, presence of allergens, price, quantity, weight, etc.),
Inform on production conditions (Ecolabel, Red Label, fair trade, protected designation of origin,
etc.),
Give information related to the product own specifications in its market universe (brand, food
and/or health related allegations, recipes, cooking methods, product history, etc.).
Grouping
Put together several consumption units for a better adequacy between product consumption and
purchase frequency (yogurt pack, beer pack),
Gather products in easy-to-handle units (packets with several cookies) in order to cater for various
consumption modes (on-the-go, etc.);
Ensure good promotion of products (promotional pack),
Ensure easy handling and transport for the consumer,
Facilitate shelf-stacking and any handling operation for operators.
Transporting/Storing
Ensure the product is delivered from the production place to the selling place without damage
(protection of the product/packaging pairing from mechanical shocks) using wood pallets,
corrugated cardboard sheets, cling or shrink film, etc.,
Protect from any malicious act,
Inform logistical centers about the contents of transportation boxes (logo, brand, content, barcode,
etc.),
Ensure the consumer can easily transport products home.
Allow for storage possibilities at the consumer’s house,
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

-
Fulfill automated systems,
Fulfill automated systems,
Guarantee the safety of employees in packaging manufacturing and product packaging lines,
Resistance to all packaging operations (impacts, heat, output, vibrations, closing, hygiene,
canning…)

Make the product visible and spreading the values of the product and/or of the brand,
of the company
Encourage the purchase through packaging, which constitutes a beacon among the shelves (the
consumer only spends a few seconds on the purchase) thanks to a color code, the shape of the
packaged product, the material used and the context to be conveyed, graphic design and
typography for instant product recognition,
Spread the benefits and values of the brand and the company (corporate social responsibility),
Secure the customer’s acceptability during the product purchase and consumption phases12.
-
-
12
Facilitate use
The use of the product and its packaging go hand in hand, since they are often inseparable:
Easy or facilitated opening for various consumer groups (seniors, children, nomadic adolescents,
athletes, etc.).
A closing mechanism to allow later consumption of the product
Multi-portions for a fragmented consumption (e.g. on-the-go)
Comfortable grasping of the product to ensure optimal adequacy between weight, size, form and
frequency of use,
Exact doses to limit losses,
Restitution of the product: emptying the contents out of the packaging as much as possible,
Using the product-packaging pairing for any kind of preservation (freezing) or preparation (oven,
microwave, double boiler, etc.).
“Acceptability of the packaging, for the product, the consumer and the user alike”, CNE, October 2010.
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4.1.
Protecting the consumer through use
Protecting children from hazardous products is, for instance, subject to numerous regulations (see chapter
2 Rules and Regulations)
Example 1
Children-resistant containers and folding boxes (pharmaceutical drug market)
Packaging professionals and marketers offer folding boxes (containers) with technical solutions to prevent
children from gaining access to the drugs.
The opening operation is intended to be difficult for children, yet easy for seniors since it does not require
great strength or complex hand positions.
Examples below are based on the following concepts:

The container is blocking the blister inside: to release it, you need to push simultaneously on two
different places (far apart enough so that the physical distance is unreachable for children). (Picture
below13).

The container can only be opened with a small cardboard “key” concealed on the side of the
container. You thus need to find the key first and then insert it in the “right” place on the container
to unlock the flap and open the container (picture below14).
Example 2:
Product preservation – safety of use15
The packaging developed by the transformer has been designed for a better use and preservation of the
drug, as well as a safer use. Well-designed packaging allows us for example to precisely identify a drug and
its dosage, and avoid confusion between drugs when you need to take them.
Some innovative designs also reinforce the consumers’ protection. For instance, Artecal Splash Dispenser
packaging is developed by the M.M. Group. Packaging is a flat cardboard folding box designed to
automatically close after opening, thus effectively protecting medication units from UV radiations and
preventing any product deterioration.
13
14
15
Picture credit: Locked4kids®
Picture credit: Child proof folding boxTM from Industrie Grafiche Bressan.
Source: Procarton
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– October 2016
Example 3
Child-resistant safety caps
Packaging designed to contain potentially hazardous products must comply with
European and national regulations, and specifically include a mandatory safety
closure for children: such packaging is designated as child-resistant.
This packaging is the combination of a content and its cap system:
 which makes it difficult for young children to gain access to the content
 but allows adults easy opening and closing.
A product’s formula may thus include using a CRC safety cap16.
These caps must be subject to testing in accordance with current standards (see chapter 3). One standard
requires an experimental opening test under real conditions. This test must be carried out by both a panel
of young children and a panel of adults. The test process, which must be performed on the vial + cap, is
long and expensive.
CRC caps are consequently developed using well-known solutions based on two gestures to perform
simultaneously (see below), in order to prevent any failure during testing.
Furthermore, any modification of the cap’s and/or the vial’s technical specifications must be approved via
this experimental test.
With this source reduction prevention approach (weight reduction), optimizations are thus substantially
limited due to the arduousness of the qualification phase. These caps are also inherently heavier or larger
than non-hazardous products’ caps.
This is why some safety caps on the market have not changed for many years.
Openings usually offered with CRC caps17 :
The aim here is to combine two movements in order to make it more complex for children to open the CRC
cap. Some combinations are mentioned below.
16
17
Push and unscrew
Squeeze and turn
Squeeze and unscrew
Squeeze and pull
CRC: Child Resistant Closure.
Source: FRC magazine. September 2011.
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4.2.
Informing the consumer through packaging
Many regulations require information on the product for consumers: its origin, composition (and use
restrictions), shelf-life, storage instructions, presence of allergens, etc.
To find out more about mandatory and accessory information, you can refer to CNE’s document “packaging
and product traceability”18
Many solutions exist to provide the consumer with information through packaging and as the amount of
information is sometimes high, some solutions are:
Example 4
Booklet labels
Information is provided through an adhesive label including several leaves: for a given surface area on
packaging, these leaves make for a bigger information surface than the packaging carrying the label; even
though information is available, it might be difficult to read for the writing is small.
Example 5
Barcodes and image codes
Some information (non-mandatory on the packaging itself) may be deported on another medium (on the
product or the brand’s website for instance).
You can access this information by scanning the code with the appropriate tool (Smartphone) and the
associated application:
 two-dimensional barcode

image previously entered in a database, then recognized by the relevant application.
18
http://www.conseil-emballage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Emballages-et-Tra%C3%A7abilit%C3%A9-final.pdf
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4.3. Accessing the product: the consumer’s use
4.3.1. Children
For certain products on the market, the main target are children. The product/packaging pairing adapts to
the consumption sociology where key characteristics emerge, such as:
 practicality;
 playfulness;
 on-the-go consumption;
 education/learning;
 the prescription of the child in the ultimate purchase of the parents;
 the safety in use of the product;
 The right portioning - from a nutritional point of view – for foodstuff.
The examples below shed light on packages integrating the use of the product by children.
Example 6:
Pom’Potes Heli’Cap
Fifteen years after marketing its now famous Pom’Potes fruit purée pouch (1998), Materne designed the
Héli’Bouchon (Heli’Cap), a cap meant for children to finally open their pouches by themselves. This cap
looks like a small helicopter shaft and gives children a better grip.
Context
The company Materne wished to give the fruit purée flask’s cap a new shape in order to
ease the opening gesture among children.
The practicality of the pouch packaging with a reclosable cap is what gives this product its
whole value. Giving children the opportunity to become more autonomous by opening their
favorite product by themselves is a means for the brand Pom’Potes to stand out from a
well-established competition on the market.
It took the company two years to design this product and launch it on the USA market in 2012 and in
France in 2013. The new cap had to adapt to small hands and to be easily unscrewed in one flick of the
wrist. User friendliness was at the core of the designers’ reflections. Many test have been carried out
among groups of children until the perfect shape was finally found. Each shaft allows a good grip; the
gesture is assured, easy and quick, and most of all playful. Moreover, on the USA Market where Materne is
implanted with its brand GoGo squeeZ, this cap complies with the toy standard ASTM F963 - 1119, exactly
in the way it complies with the NF EN 71-120 Standard § 5.1 in France.
Example 7:
Nasal spray aerosol cap: “the safety grooved ring”.
Including from the design stage on the final conditions of use of a product help
adapt the packaging solution in terms of size and shape, the functionality of the
aerosol diffuser (locking, materials, etc.) and the type and quality of the
restitution (foam, spray, etc.); example of the design of a specific nasal spray for
spraying seawater products into a baby’s nose (the grooved ring prevents the
diffuser from entering too deep into the nose).
Note: no aerosol is designed to be used by young children
19
20
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety.
Safety of toys - Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties. December 2014.
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4.3.2. The elderly
Context
Population aging is a recognized demographic trend. For the players of the packaging product’s value
chain, this fact is both a challenge and a great opportunity for innovation, rethinking products and their
packages. Thus, developing a package for a sensitive population, like the elderly, is ultimately developing a
package for all. Although the needs are specific, this means providing solutions that will be beneficial for all
age groups.
In the light of the figures below and in the context of this inevitable demographic trend, consuming per se
will not be the same tomorrow as it is today and marketers must necessarily take this into account as the
product-packaging pairing will have to answer future needs.
A few figures

Demographic change in France21
Whereas 21.5% of the population living in mainland France was 60 and over in 2007, this share should
reach 32.1% in 2060.
Examples listed hereafter shed light on packages integrating the use of the product by elderly people.
21
Chart from the CNE based on INSEE Première n.1320 (basis: mainland France).
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Example 8:
Aerosol actuator
Actuator with a possibility of double triggering: either downwards for a short and
precise spraying, or by a pressure on the trigger for more control and an increased
comfort when a long spraying is required. Any unwanted used is prevented via a
locking system.
Example 9:
Food cartons’ tops22
In 2013, the Swedish Rheumatism Association (SRA)23 approved five Tetra Pak® packaging items
for their easy opening and closing features for elders and people with motor deficiencies.
One of the prized solutions is the HeliCap™ system:
The HeliCap™ system (23 or 27 mm) enables an easy grasping of the cap and therefore an easy opening
of the carton simultaneously with the piercing of the capping in one gesture.
The company SIG Combibloc also developed two easy opening systems adapted for elderly people:
- the “CombiSwift” cap (a capping solution equivalent to the HeliCap™ system);
- the “CombiSmart” cap, which is a cap easy to grasp, open (and close) in one turn thanks to the small
fins. This closing feature is also fitted for small formats, which are often used by elders.
“CombiSmart” cap
22
23
Source: FFCP
http://www.reumautveckling.se/english/accessible-packaging-and-easy-use/
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4.3.3. Population with motor deficiency
Besides issues related to population aging, we must also handle the reality of disabling diseases. The
working group wished to concentrate on motor deficiency, especially which related to arthritis, as well as
on visual impairment. Here, the purpose of designing a packaged product becomes clear, especially from a
social point of view: this design must from now on make sure to include these people.
The case of arthritis in a few words 24
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatism characterized by the inflammation of
articulations and comes along with the destruction of cartilage, bones and tendons. This autoimmune
disease evolves with fits and each flare may provoke joint damage and deformations. In daily life, these
people suffer from morning stiffness, pains, tiredness, impairments or even handicaps.
A few figures on arthritis
In France, 1 million people suffer from chronic inflammatory rheumatism, 300 000 of which suffer from
rheumatoid arthritis. This disease affects children, adults and elders, but mostly women (3/1 ratio).
Other kinds of rheumatisms
The word “rheumatism” comprises chronic inflammatory rheumatisms such as arthritis as well as
degenerative rheumatisms like degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis. They have in common the pain
and impairments they cause, although the body parts where they appear, their mechanisms and the way
they can be handled are different.
Osteoarthritis, which is characterized by the degeneration of joint cartilage associated with aging, shocks or
abnormal movements, is the most common type of rheumatism. In France, 9 to 10 million people suffer
from osteoarthritis.
Arthritis and how it impairs daily life
Deformations of the hands, difficulties to grasp and weakening strengths can have impacts even on the
most common gestures of daily life: locking doors, using keys, getting dressed, getting washed, carrying
groceries, cooking (using utensils, lifting sizeable objects), writing or even taking medicines!
Arthritis and packaging
Packaging intended for the general public are often inadequate for people who suffer from arthritis,
rheumatisms or osteoarthritis and whose hands feel painful.
In 2012, the AFPric (for Association Française des Polyarthritiques et des Rhumatismes Inflammatoires
Chroniques, the French Arthritis and inflammatory chronic Rheumatism Association) launched a campaign
called “Can you open it? People with arthritis can’t!”. The idea was to make people aware of the difficulties
that people with arthritis face in their daily life just by a gesture supposedly as common (and yet vital) as
opening a bottle.
Other than bottles, many other packages are problematic, either because of their opening feature or by
the way they are handled in use:
 Screw top jars (lack of strength and suppleness in the wrist);
 Jars with suction release tabs (lack of strength);
 Cans (difficult grasping and lack of strength);
 Cartons (difficult grasping), 2l cartons (lack of strength);
 Capping (difficult grasping);
 Secured packaging (coordination);
 Blister packs (e.g. medicines) (difficult grasping);
 Tubes, flasks and vials to press (lack of strength and difficult grasping).
24
Source: AFPric: Association Française des Polyarthritiques et des Rhumatismes Inflammatoires Chroniques. (French
Arthritis and inflammatory chronic Rheumatism Association)
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Daily tips
In order to maintain a certain autonomy, consumers develop techniques:
when they buy a product from the shelf, they tend to give priority to the least constraining packages,
sometimes even to the detriment of the product itself. They prefer for instance:
 Cream jars rather than cream tubes;
 Shower gel in pump bottles rather than classical flasks;
 Packing with an easy opening feature.
They also use technical help such as these listed below. These examples have been classified based on
their expected use function:
Access to the product: package opening
Overcaps to help unscrew the bottle cap
Tools to open a can (box or jar)
Tool to “grasp” and open lidding (yoghurt, delicatessen foodstuff, etc.)
Tool to pierce blisters to access to the medicine
Access to the product: pouring
Tool to reduce the lifting effort in order to pour a drink
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However, apart from retraining their freedom to choose, these tips and technical helps are more or less
efficient, more or less troublesome and are not always adapted to all.
Consumer would like some of the best practices listed below to become ideas for marketers allowing them
to take disabled people into account while designing packaged products:
 Recognizing the difficulties faced by people with arthritis and/or osteoarthritis;
 Carrying tests amongst this population while designing new packaging systems;
 Generalizing adapted packages.
Example 10:
Wattwiller easy-opening flower cap25
In 2014, Wattwiller adopted a new cap format for its water.
Context:
An opening gesture as easy as unscrewing a cap from a bottle can be a struggle for
many people, be they children, elders or people with arthritis.
Generally speaking, the number of elderly consumers on mass markets will go up,
especially on that of bottled water. A March 2011 Credoc study26 shows that this age
group will represent over 60% of food purchase in 2015.
Yet packaging remains the first lever of differentiation on these very competitive kinds of markets:
- the aspect of a product, the creativity, its aesthetics and modernity are major purchase criteria.
They can create a real added value for water taken as a product: the cap can be made more
attractive through design and practicality in use;
- the ergonomic dimension and the comfort in use of a product are also decisive purchase criteria, as
the cap is acknowledged as a critical feature both for use of and access to the product, for women,
toddlers and elders equally.
Two years of studying and developing were necessary to launch the new cap in July 2014.This new cap
received a positive response from the consumers (thank you letters) and came along with an increase in
sales. The new cap also broadened the range of targeted consumers.
25
26
Source: Wattwiller.
Credoc source: Enquête Profils Seniors (Study on elder profiles).
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– October 2016
Example 11:
Cristaline’s new cap27
On the very competitive market of bottled water, Cristaline
gave its 50cl-bottle a new cap informally called ‘click snap”
and initiates an evolution in the use of the bottle cap to
access the product. From now on it is not necessary to use
strength to unscrew the cap and gain access to the
product; all you need to do is lift it via a leverage effect
with your thumb for example.
Image credit: Cristaline.
This new opening gesture is accomplished more easily than rotating the common cap placed on the screw
thread.
Another positive aspect is that the cap stays joined together with the bottle, which makes it eco-friendlier,
as it does not get lost in nature anymore. Waste sorting also becomes easier for the consumer and the cap
can always be recycled.
To design this new cap, many industrial investments were needed, especially because the height and
diameter of the bottleneck were reduced, but also because the cap is now clipped instead of screwed onto
the bottle.
On its Facebook page, the AFPric made a survey on the consumers’ perceptions towards the new bottle cap.
Their answer was that it comes along with a new opening gesture to which one needs to adapt. Like for
any change in habits, it is important to inform the consumer because some people confess they are
bothered by the valve that tends to touch their noses: The message: “the practical double-click” explains
that you need to wait for a second clicking to make sure that the valve is securely blocked backwards
before you can drink.
Cristaline is carrying out a communication campaign on the bottles’ labels and on posters to explain the
new opening gesture and, as part of its continuous improvement policy, remains available to listen to the
consumers’ opinion via its webpage “your opinion on the cap”. It makes no doubt that optimizing actions at
the service of the consumer have already been identified.
Example 12:
For elders with poor dexterity in the hands, the difficulty to use blistered medicines is to the detriment of a
good observance of the treatment. Marketers offer to rectify this difficulty by making the medicine-taking
gesture easier thanks to packaging.
In the example below28, all that the person requiring treatment needs to do is to press on the alveolus for
the capsule to slide into a channel and thus be easily accessible to the patient. Because it is rigid, it allows
elders to grip it easily and the opening, while still remaining child-resistant, is easy for the senior populaion.
27
28
Source: Cristaline.
Source: http://colbertpkg.com/complypak
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Example 13:
Lidding and easy opening
The two most common issues when using a sealed lid on a container is the difficulty to
seize it (being able to grip it) and its easy opening that is sometimes recalcitrant.
The CNE reminds us here of a few pieces of data on the medium forces29 (expressed in
Newton N) that women age groups can resort to in order to lift an easy-opening 14-mm
lidding.
The first value stands for 95% of the considered population, the second value between parentheses stands
for 50% of the considered population.
Children
3-5years old
Young
children
8-10 years old
Adults
20-60 years old
Elders
61-80 years old
The authors of the study consider that, in order to design and optimize easy opening peelable packaging
systems, we need to design capping for which the opening force is lower than the first value, as 95% of all
the consumers can at least use this amount of force.
Example 14:
Metal boxes: Easy rigid ringed opening or peelable opening with supple aluminum?
On certain product markets (cf. the two examples below), the metal box can be offered with one of the
two opening systems:
• Heat-sealed aluminum peelable lidding
• The easy opening with a ring, knowing that the equipment rate with easy openings with a ring was
of 91% in 201530 for metal boxes.
Example of a dessert cream pot
Heat-sealed capping
Easy-opening with ring
Picture credit: Materne Mont Blanc
Example of a fish can
Heat-sealed capping
29
30
Easy-opening with ring
Test method « Easy opening of peelable packages » IVLV Technical Bulletin No. 106/2011 (June 2011).
Source: SNFBM.
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Even with an easy-opening ring, metal boxes are not easily opened without much strength:
Several studies31 show that the maximal opening strength with an easy capping with a ring needs 27 to 36
N32 for beverage cans; the medium opening effort being 32 N (+/-12N) for 73mm-diameter cans.
In order to improve accessibility to the content of the steel package, ArcelorMittal33 was a pioneer in
developing new ranges of steel so as to drastically reduce the efforts made to open the taps of cans. Over
the last 15 years, improvement in the opening effort has reached about 30% as shown in the chart below.
These improvements are ongoing in order to meet the expectations of consumers of all ages.
Reduction of the efforts required to open cans with an easy steel opening
The difficulty sometimes faced by consumers with weaknesses in the hands and fingers is to be able to
grasp the opening ring so as to lift it. The EasyLiftTM solution available on the market allows for a better
grasping of the ring thanks to the space between the ring and the cap of the box.
31
32
33
Scientific background for the basis of an international standard for easy-to-open packages EASYOPENPACK 2006–
2008 Nordic Innovation Centre Norway.
N: Newton.
Source: Arcelor Mittal
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Example 15
Orbit ClosureTM
It is well-known that certain products are hard to open and consumers of all ages
got use – or resigned – to live with this age-old inconvenience. They consequently
developed tricks and tools to access the products (see page 27).
This is true for some product conditioned in glass jars and pots with a closure
(jam, pickles, canned vegetables, etc.)
However consumers wish to be able to open their products’ packaging on their own, without resorting to
utensils or another pair of hands.
It has been proven34that old people can no longer open some packaging, simply because their available
strength is inferior to the strength required to unscrew the closure.
For instance, for a 85 mm diameter closure: blue curves correspond to a woman’s available strength
(torque in N.m35) depending on her age (mean with +/- standard deviation), green curves correspond to a
man’s available strength (Torque) depending on his age (mean with +/- standard deviation). The red
straight line corresponds to the necessary opening strength.
The diagram36 below illustrates the maximum available opening effort depending on a consumer’s age and
gender. For instance, an average of 6 N.m is available to a 40-year old woman, and around 9 N.m to a
man of the same age.
34
35
36
How wide do you want the jar? Packaging Technology and. Science 2010; 23: 11–18
N.m: Newton.meter
Source: Crown Food Europe study
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Based on this assessment, Crown Food Europe37 suggests a solution with a two-piece closure allowing for a
two-step opening, thus reducing by two the strength required to open jars (see diagram below).
Storage days
Closure
Diagram38: Strengths to open Orbit ClosureTM and standard Twist closures.
Various studies carried out by the supplier have shown Orbit closuresTM to be more accepted by consumers
thanks to its easy opening, some consumers claimed they would be ready to pay a little bit extra for this
feature. Acceptability of consumers towards this closure may even influence their purchase (preference to
the purchase of a product including this feature).
37
38
Http://www.crowncork.com/closures-capping/innovations-closures/orbit-closure
Source: Crown Food Europe.
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4.3.4. Population with visual impairment
Key figures on visual impairment
1.7 million visually impaired people in France:
– 60,000 blind people
– 1,640,000 visually impaired people, half of them affected by DMLA
– in 2010 3% of the population was visually impaired and this number should rise to 5.5% of
the population in 2030
Some definitions of visual impairment39
“A person with low vision is one with a vision acuity after correction between
1/20 and 3/10 in the better eye or with a visual field no greater than 20°”.
“A blind person is one with a vision acuity after correction equal to or
less than 1/20 or with a visual field no greater than 10°”.
For anyone who cannot read, a formally established link between a product and information
related to it is a vital and recurring need, to:
 Differentiate tactily similar items
 Be able to use them on your own, at a chosen time, safely and in accordance with their purpose.
Visual impairment and packaging
 Packaging with a shiny varnish is a problem for people with visual deficiency, both in recognizing the
very nature of the product (the reflection of light preventing the perception of images) and reading
information on the packaging.
 The nature of the chosen materials may also add another difficulty to read.
 Opening instructions may also sometimes be difficult to identify. These openings are not as intuitive as
their designers might have thought and may sometimes even be difficult.
 The packaging form may result in a complicated choice and use for consumers.
 Legibility can be more difficult due to the use of complex fonts, with serif typeface and too small a size.
Examples40 of recommended writing and less effective writing:
lower case
lower case
For more information, you can refer to INPES’s guidelines41
39
40
41
Source: WHO
Source: Vision Australia ‘Guidelines for Producing Readable Text’ April 2009.
http://inpes.santepubliquefrance.fr/pdv/docsHTML/guideMalvoyants/index.html#heading_0011
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 Color contrast42:
Contrast between the text and the background color is essential for readers with low vision. The best
contrast is a black text on an ivory background or the other way around, but it is possible and even
encouraged to use colors for a more attractive document.
We can take inspiration from the recommendations provided by an Australian website design
organization43, using a tool to test color combinations.
Another tool also gives an example of recommended contrasts to make it easier for people with visual
deficiency to objects apart in their surroundings (see table below): Although this tool has been
designed for interior and signage system, its recommendations can give indications on how to design
graphic models for packaging: the recommended contrast between the text and background colors
must be at 70% minimum.
Contrasts table44
42
http://inpes.santepubliquefrance.fr/pdv/docsHTML/guideMalvoyants/index.html#heading_0013
Http://www.visionaustralia.org/digital-access-cca
44
Source: Coloring best practices guidelines Fédération française du bâtiment, 2009.
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Practices in use
Example 16
Magnifying glass on the shopping cart
Considering the German population is aging, some distributors in the German
industry make magnifying glasses available on shopping carts to assist lowsighted consumers.
In some stores, the maximum height of the shelves is 1.60 meters in order to limit
physical exertion to be more easily accessible to elderly customers.
Example 17
Braille writing system and the pharmaceutical drug market.
As mentioned in the “Rules and Regulations” chapter, the use of Braille may be compulsory on packaging.
There are various techniques to write in Braille, such as embossing
cardboard containers, screen printing and solid-dots Braille.
Note: some marketers have developed Braille on their packaging,
irrespectively of any regulatory obligation.
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5. PERSPECTIVE/FIELD OF INVESTIGATION
Perspective
Based on these examples, the French Packaging Council recalls the important aspects of the development
of a product/package pairing adapted for all:
1. The diverse regulations are the base of any development.
2. The integration of the end users and consumers’ needs has to be thought from the design stage of
packaging.
3. Respecting and opening to all consumers’ needs, including the least capable. This approach is
generally supported by a CSR strategy.
4. The methodological handbook45 about eco-friendly product/packaging pairings insists on the
importance of the consumer use (Key-Point no.2 of the handbook).
5. The acceptability of the consumer46 must be investigated further through testing and methods
(some of which are standardized). In order to do so, please refer to the CNE’s document in the
footnote at the bottom of this page.
This perspective shows how much of an effort it is to comply with the different essential requirements. For
marketers, this approach consists of finding a balance between:
- the respect of the environment and the use of a product designed to be accessible to all;
- the protection of the product and the accessibility of the product for all;
- the inaccessibility to the product for certain populations (for example child-resistant packaging for
dangerous products) and an opening system that is easy enough for other populations (for instance
the elderly who should be able to access said dangerous products).
Designing packaging intended for all populations must be put in perspective with reasonable economic
costs for all.
Fields of investigation
Not only in France is the question of “packaging (designed) for all ages” essential (cf. Bibliography). It is
therefore important to take into account the accessibility to the product including for the elderly and for
people with a visual impairment or a motor deficiency.
Marketers therefore have to:
- collect information from scientific research concerning this issue;
- co-develop packages hand in hand with the different stakeholders (suppliers, machine
manufacturers, etc.) as well as associations likely to have information on this issue;
- Draft a check-list of the consumers’ capabilities likely to have an impact on their accessibility to the
product (for instance: strength in hands, dexterity, grip of the hands on the package, coordination
of both hands, illness, sight, etc.)
- Identify adequate measuring methods in order to qualify/quantify the critical aspects of the
product/package pairing (understanding of the consumer of the instructions of opening, strengths
that the consumer needs to deploy, etc.);
- Adopt a pedagogic approach towards the stakeholders in order to make them aware of the
elements to bear in mind while designing a package, including the specific needs that it is intended
to answer.
Many examples tend to show that developing a package for a specific population is a source for innovation
that leads to bringing to the market a product intended for all.
45
46
Methodological handbook about an eco-friendly package design on:
http://www.conseil-emballage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/84_0.pdf
http://www.conseil-emballage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/47_1.pdf
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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arthritis Australia Accessibility Design Division: Food Packaging Design Accessibility Guidelines (2012).
Danish Technological Institute and Arkitektskolen-Aarhus: User-friendly Packaging-Guideline for the
industry (2008).
European commission health and consumer directorate-General: Guideline on the packaging-Information of
medicinal products for human use authorized by the Union (July 2013).
IVLV - Guideline for the design of "easy opening" peelable packaging systems - Technical Bulletin No.
106/2011 Page 11-20 (June 2011).
IVLV - Test method for determining the opening forces for peelable packaging systems. Technical Bulletin
No. 103/2012 - Part 1 (May 2012).
Nordic Innovation Centre-Norway-Scientific background for the basis of an international standard for easyto-open packages (June 2008).
Vision Australia: Labeling Guidelines - “Guidelines for Producing Readable Text” (April 2009).
A. Yoxall, J. Langley, R. Janson, R. Lewis, J. Wearn, S. A. Hayes How Wide Do You Want the Jar?: The
Effect on Diameter for Ease of Opening for Wide-mouth Closures Packaging technology and science 23:
11-18 (2010).
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7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With thanks to members of the working group and contributors:
ric
AFP
ARCELOR MITTAL
ATTORNEY AT THE PARIS COURT OF APPEAL
CARTOON DESIGN
CARREFOUR
CASINO
CFA
CNE
CNE
CNE
COLGATE PALMOLIVE SERVICES
CROWN FOOD EUROPE
ECO-EMBALLAGES
EXPANSCIENCE
FAR
FEBEA
FFCP
FSPACK
HEINEKEN ENTREPRISE
ILEC
LNE
MATERNE MONT BLANC
NESTLE
PIKPIK ENVIRONNEMENT
ROXANE
SNFBM
STRATE COLLEGE
SYSTEME U
WATTWILLER
C. BELLER
C. JUNG
S. MARTIN
J. ROSSI
B. GARNIER
C. MERCADIE
X. CAMIDEBACH
M. BRICOUT
M. FONTAINE
B. SIRI
C. FONTANA
L. DURAFOUR
J. LE MOUX
A. KERGUELEN
M. ABOULFARAJ
N. DELANGLE
J. ZEH
J. FRUCHARD
L. PERRAYON-DANIEL
E. BAEYENS
K. CHAILLOUX
X. HUSSON
I. BRUAUX
E. KUBIK
A. ROUSSEL
O. DRAULLETTE
J.P. CORNILLOU
J.M. POINTET
V. SIEGLER
All of our publications are available on our website:
www.conseil-emballage.org
For more information, please contact:
Bruno Siri, General Manager
Conseil National de l’Emballage
Phone number: (0033)1.53.64.80.30
Email: [email protected]
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Board of Directors
Georges Robin, Honorary President
Michel Fontaine, President
Bruno Garnier, French Federation of Trade and Retail Companies, Vice-president
Guy Lagonotte, Familles de France, Secretary
Noël Mangin, InterEmballage, Treasurer
Evangeline Baeyens, ILEC
Jacques Bordat, InterEmballage
Olivier De Lagausie, CLIFE
Kareen Desbouis, CLIFE
Philippe Joguet, FCD
Jan Le Moux, ECO-EMBALLAGES
Arnaud Rolland, ILEC
Fabrice Peltier, FCD
Véronique Sestrières, COMEXPOSIUM
Bruno Siri, General Manager
The CNE’s Nine Colleges
Packaging materials manufacturers,
Packaging manufacturers,
Companies in the consumer goods sector and their suppliers,
Retail companies,
Companies authorized by the public authorities to organize the collection and recovery of packaging waste
on the national level and operators in the sector,
Consumer associations,
Environmental protection organizations,
Local authorities,
Other federations and companies.
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