<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=216539877280951&ev=PageView&noscript=1" /> Child-Resistant Flexible Packaging in 2022 - Dymapak

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Flexible packaging is good for many reasons. But what has piqued the interest of manufacturers, retailers, and consumers is its child-resistant capabilities, sustainability, and compact design. According to the FPA, flexible packaging use is expected to grow in the cleaning and hygiene, beverages and homecare, dog and cat food, and beauty and personal care industries.

Let’s dive in and learn if this type of packaging is right for your business.

 

What Is Flexible Packaging?

Flexible packaging refers to a container or package consisting of readily yielding materials that can change shape easily when closed or filled. Advancements in packaging technology, lower material consumption, and a trend shift have made flexible packaging more affordable than rigid packaging.

 

Is Flexible Packaging Right for Your Products?

Flexible packaging is right for your products as it helps them stay fresh and high-quality. Some products lose their effectiveness and freshness when exposed to light or moisture. For instance, when cannabis goods are exposed to too much humidity, they can get mold and microbial contamination.

Flexible packaging also extends the shelf-life of products. Given that 30-40% of the US food supply becomes waste, flexible packaging helps to reduce food waste and make more revenue for your business.

High shipping costs are a significant problem in the US, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, using flexible packaging that consumes less space in a shipping container or delivery truck will significantly benefit your bottom line. Flexible packaging also offers a good shopping experience as it can fit well in a shopping cart and the consumer’s shelves and pantries.

 

What Is Child-Resistant Packaging?

Child-resistant packaging reduces the risk of children ingesting dangerous materials. That’s why regulators require that pesticides, household chemicals, prescription drugs, and OTC drugs use child-resistant packaging.

There’s a long history of children ingesting hazardous materials at home, resulting in the passing of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 by the US Congress. Apart from the USA, other developed countries that use child-resistant packaging include the UK, EU, Canada, and Australia.

 

Who Needs To Use Child-Resistant Packaging?

Chemical manufacturers use child-resistant packaging to keep children safe from dangerous chemicals and comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirements. Some popular household chemicals to keep out of reach of children include disinfectants, bleach, antifreeze, and cleaning detergents.

Child safety, and mainly protection from poisoning, is essential in medicine packaging. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use child-resistant packaging for aspirin, naproxen, imidazolines, ibuprofen, and other OTC drugs.

Cannabis companies are not the exception.

 

Child-Resistant Packaging for Cannabis

Cannabis laws stipulate that a child under five shouldn’t be able to open a cannabis container, and official testing must prove it. This is to prevent children from experiencing acute cannabis poisoning after consuming cannabis products.

Earlier cannabis packaging regulations treated cannabis like other prescription drugs. This means medical cannabis dispensaries would use nondescript cylindrical pill bottles. The transparency of these bottles made cannabis products unsafe for children.

States passed laws requiring cannabis dispensaries to sell products in opaque, child-safe bags or pouches.

Now, companies are packaging the cannabis flower in customized, smell-proof containers that are child-resistant and designed from metal, glass, and wood. These containers have ideal lighting and moisture conditions to safeguard the shelf-life of the products.

Products such as hash, crumble, shatter, and wax are kept in custom-molded child-proof containers, while experiential packaging is used for vape products. You’ll often get gummies and candies in aesthetically pleasing, child-proof mylar bags.

 

What Is Sustainable Child-Resistant Flexible Packaging?

Child-resistant, flexible packaging provides considerable sustainability benefits to consumers, retailers, product manufacturers.

It is shipped flat or on rolls like paper towels, allowing for a massive number of packages to be transported on a truck, reducing the number of trucks needed for transportation. That said, this reduces greenhouse emissions and energy use.

Flexible packaging reduces waste since it has a higher product-to package ratio than other packaging materials. It is lightweight and weighs considerably less than other materials, which offers source reduction – the elimination of waste before its creation.

More waste is reduced when the barrier layer in the flexible packaging extends food’s shelf-life — the amount of food waste linked to perishable goods declines.

 

Why Typical Plastic Packaging Isn’t Good for the Environment

Plastic packaging is known for its negative environmental effects. The material takes thousands of years to biodegrade, making single-use plastic packaging a main source of pollution. Toxins that poison the soil are released from tiny plastic molecules when the plastic finally degrades. Moreover, the molecules can enter waterways and ruin delicate ecosystems.

Producing plastic packaging releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air due to reliance on fossil fuel energy. Toxic wastes and other by-products are also released into water bodies, harming sea animals.

 

What Is Polyethylene Flexible Packaging?

Polyethylene flexible packaging is a low-density, soft, lightweight plastic material used for shopping bags and other packaging options. For instance, polyethylene bundling film wraps canned goods and water bottles, and thicker poly bags help package knives, nails, and other sharp items.

Its popularity as a packaging material has also been enhanced by heat sealability, high elongation, high clarity, and low production costs.

Due to its flexibility, durability, and tear-resistance, polyethylene flexible packaging easily packs heavy-duty items like industrial machining parts.

 

Make the Switch to Recyclable Polyethylene Packaging

Using recyclable polyethylene packaging is a force for good. Each time one ton of plastic is recycled, there are 16.3 barrels of oil savings, promoting the transition to renewable energy from fossil fuels. What’s more, recycling plastics helps minimize the use of natural resources.

Did you know that recycling one ton of plastics can completely charge a Tesla battery more than 57 times? About 5,774 kWh of energy is saved.

And if you’re looking forward to cleaner oceans and fewer landfills, recyclable polyethylene packaging is the answer. Get in touch today, and we’ll help you pack your cannabis products and save the planet simultaneously.

 

Sources

Mold on Marijuana Plants | Leaf Expert

Food Waste FAQs | USDA

Frequently Asked Questions: Benefits of Recycling | Land, Buildings & Real Estate