From supplements to cleaning products, many consumer goods contain ingredients that can be dangerous to children if mishandled or ingested. Child-resistant closures (CRCs) are special packaging solutions designed to limit access to certain products and protect children in household environments.
Child-resistant closures are a must-have for any company that sells potentially harmful or toxic products. This isn’t just for consumer safety; it also helps ensure compliance with modern regulations.
Here are the facts you need to know about the importance of child-resistant closures to protect your business and consumers.
What Is a Modified Child-Resistant Closure?
With many new products constantly entering the market, child-resistant closures have evolved to meet the demands of businesses and consumers alike.
Child-resistant closures include components that make products significantly difficult for children to access. Since children under the age of five have less finger dexterity than adults, CRCs utilize two motions and varied pressure to access a package’s contents. Push-down and turn and squeeze-lock closures are two of the most commonly used.
Modified child-resistant closures are alternative types of CRCs that are currently being tested to improve upon existing technologies while remaining government compliant.
Why Is Child-Resistant Closure Important?
One thing is certain: maintaining child safety should be a high priority for responsible business owners selling packaged goods.
Before children are old enough to understand the danger of certain materials, they go through a phase when they are curious about everything. That curiosity can mean that everything appears edible, even if all the signs say otherwise. Even the most attentive parents cannot monitor their children’s activity 24/7, so extra measures are often needed to ensure child safety.
While vigilance and education are critical to keeping children safe, child-resistant closures can provide another layer of protection. They can reduce the risk of children getting sick or hurt by ingesting hazardous materials. Using CRCs can protect the consumer and save your brand from harm and potential litigation.
How Can You Know If You Need Child-Resistant Closure?
Many products, including cosmetics, drugs, cannabis, and household cleaners, require child-resistant closures. If your product presents a risk of injury or death to children, the packaging must have a CRC according to the law.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both have extensive information on their websites detailing which products and industries have these requirements.
For further protection, or if you are still determining whether your product falls under this umbrella, consult an attorney to better understand industry laws and product-specific regulations and standards.
Know the Regulations
Familiarizing yourself with the requirements, regulations, and regulatory bodies that make child-resistant packaging rules can help protect your company and consumers. Here are the main agencies to recognize and follow.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent federal regulatory agency created by Congress in 1972. They are in charge of protecting consumers against unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products.
Their mandate covers a broad range of consumer goods, from cleaning products and children’s toys to textiles.
The Poison Prevention Packaging Act passed in 1970 requires that certain substances have special packaging to make it significantly difficult for children under the age of five to open. These include certain foods, cosmetics, fuels, and other hazardous substances. Since its introduction, there has been a significant decline in child death and injury by poisoning.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Among many other things, the EPA protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations.
To prevent potential child poisoning around the home, the EPA has strict rules about the proper packaging of pesticides.
These regulations concern pesticides falling under two major categories:
- Those that are intended for residential use, which can include weed killers, disinfectants, sanitizers, rodenticides, and insecticides. Essentially, this includes anything stored at home that a child could easily come in contact with.
- Other pesticides that are within a certain toxicity range, are corrosive to the skin or eyes, or are dangerous by inhalation.
What Products Need Child-Resistant Closure?
Due to the long history of accidental poisonings, there is an ever-growing list of products that require child-resistant closures.
Here are a few products requiring CRCs.
1. Cannabis
Since the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in many U.S. states, dispensaries are opening rapidly, making cannabis flowers, edibles, and other cannabis products more easily accessible than ever.
The psychoactive effects of THC can lead to severe symptoms when ingested by a child. As such, like many other consumer goods, cannabis products must come packaged with closures that are difficult for children to access. In addition to CRCs, many states also require that these products are sold in opaque pouches and bags.
2. Pharmaceuticals
Prescription and OTC medications are one of the major contributors to child poisoning. Each year, approximately 500,000 children under five are potentially poisoned by accidental ingestion. A string of child poisonings from medications provided the incentive to pass the PPPA in 1970.
You may not realize that these poisonings are often caused by over-the-counter drugs many of us commonly keep in our medicine cabinets. Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, vitamins high in iron, and allergy medications containing diphenhydramine can all lead to a trip to the emergency room.
Child-resistant packaging has significantly decreased these incidents over the five decades since the PPPA was passed into law.
3. Cosmetics
This may surprise you, but many cosmetics can cause severe symptoms if ingested or mishandled by a child.
Baby oils, sunscreens, nail enamel dryers, hair oils, bath and massage oils, and makeup removers all require child-resistant packaging. This is because these products are often high in hydrocarbons that, when breathed into the lungs, can cause chemical pneumonia — a condition that can cause sickness or death.
DymaPak Prioritizes Child-Resistant Closure
DymaPak knows the importance of protecting consumers, children, and your brand reputation. That’s why we have developed a variety of packaging solutions that visually showcase your product while also delivering the peace of mind of CRCs.
Secure Sack
DymaPak’s Secure Sack is the world’s first lab-certified child-resistant bag. Using a patented locking press to close the zipper, these flexible bags are constructed from food-grade plastic and are ideal for safeguarding various consumer goods.
They are perfect for medicine, cosmetics, toys, household cleaners, and other objects that don’t fit into a pill vial. The opaque packaging and smell-proof barrier can safely store cannabis products, including flowers, edibles, and vape cartridges.
SecuriTin
The patented SecuriTin is a highly versatile product that solves three major packaging issues: protecting contents, children, and the environment.
Besides being curbside recyclable for the eco-conscious business and consumers, the SecuriTin is also the world’s first lab-certified child-resistant tin.
The SecuriTin is highly customizable, with ample space for exterior branding and embossing, plus options for interior printing. The SecuriTin is an ideal package for cannabis edibles, vape cartridges, pens, lotions, and other topical products.
Twistspenser
For proper packaging of liquids of all thicknesses, the Twistspenser stands out among its competitors. Its discreet lipstick-style design is ideal for storing vape concentrates securely and tightly so no product is lost.
Using a twist-to-dispense design, the Twistspenser is the world’s first fully child-resistant liquid dispenser.
The Bottom Line
Child safety concerns all adults, whether we have our own children or not. As responsible business owners, complying with government regulations is not only a legal requirement but an ethical one, as well.
DymaPak offers packaging solutions with child-resistant closures in many formats, ensuring the safe delivery of your products and successful ventures across the board.
Sources:
Child-Resistant Packaging | CHPA
CRP for Over-the-Counter Drug Products | Federal Register
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