That’s a Wrap: The Best and Worst Packaging of 2021

We would like to thank our wonderful community for making this the most successful campaign yet, as we received a record breaking number of nominations and votes for both categories through social media and in our nomination form.

Worst Packaging of 2021

Although we had some familiar foes we also had some new culprits, the worst offenders of 2021 were:

5 – Zip lock bags – this was a debut entry in our list, with feedback indicating that they have become more challenging in recent years, especially for products like wraps and frozen fruit. Factors impairing the users experience include the ability to grip the product and the strength required to open the seal, as well as the ease to which they would reseal.

4 – Squeeze-and-turn child resistant bottles – packaging that requires simultaneous actions are often challenging for the arthritis community, so products like toilet cleaners and mouth wash being described as completely impossible isn’t a surprise. The danger these packaging poses is that the lids will not be reattached due to the pain they cause, which then renders the child resistant features redundant. Manufactures need to undertake research and user testing to find a balance to make these type of closures child-resistant and meet the needs of those with reduced dexterity and hand strength.

3 – Plastic bottles – Sadly it sounds like some of our community are left to go thirsty when it comes to water bottles and soft drink bottles. A trend of smaller and harder to grip caps was identified by voters. Our community also shared stories of needing to ask strangers in public places or grandkids at home to access their drinks. Others used tools to try and break the initial seal, with one person hurting both their front teeth and cutting themselves with a knife during their battles, highlighting the danger tools can pose.

2 – Arthritis medication packaging – disappointingly there are several arthritis medications that continue to be nominated, with our community describing them as “impossible to open”, “seems like a cruel joke” and “there must be a better way”. Past research has shown that hard to open packaging can mean that patients are unable to take their medication in a timely manner, which is extremely concerning. We also hear alarming stories of loved ones using tools like knives to open packaging, sometimes destroying the cap to get it open. Others described the pain and anxiety they felt when confronted by the task of opening certain medicine packaging. Some medications are even a struggle for pharmacy staff to pre-open for patients. We will be relaying these experiences to these medication manufacturers and asking that the end-users needs are taken seriously.

1 – Jars – Both plastic jars and glass jars with metal lids are challenging for consumers with arthritis to open, with many communicating that the experience was painful and required strength beyond their capabilities. This resulted in users having to wait for assistance from loved ones, employ creative opening methods to break the seal or resort to using tools, which as previously highlighted can have dangerous consequences like injuries. Interestingly a previous winner of the best packaging (and nominee again this year in the best category) was the orbit closure on jars, found on products like Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. We encourage companies to integrate design innovations like this into their packaging to prevent unnecessary pain for users as well as the need to resort to creative opening methods or tools like knives.