If it hasn’t happened to you, it likely has happened to someone you know…WRAP RAGE, the common name for heightened frustration resulting from the difficult and sometimes painful process of opening hard-to-remove packaging.  

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, brand owners are asking themselves how dangerous clamshell packaging can be. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 300,000 people visit the hospital annually as a result of injuries incurred while trying to open plastic packaging, ranking “unintentional cut/pierce” as the fifth most common cause of non-fatal injuries.

MeadWestvaco Corporation has developed a packaging solution aimed at easing consumers’ fury and avoid the injurious struggle often associated with plastic clamshells.

Natralock security packaging is an alternative to clamshell packaging that is designed to satisfy environmental sustainability objectives, deter theft, and increase product and brand security. Natralock packaging starts with a theft-resistant, laminated paperboard that is recyclable. This is then combined with a clear APET or RPET thermoform to create a visible package that is nearly impossible to tear apart by hand and uses 50 to 60 percent less plastic on average than traditional PVC clamshells.

According to MWV, consumers can safely and easily open the Natralock package with a pair of household scissors, avoiding “wrap rage” and the often injurious struggle consumers experience with clamshells.

“Either through direct experience or through the media, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the wrap rage issue and are causing brand owners to rethink their packaging options,” said Jeff Kellogg, vice president, Natralock security packaging, MWV. “Because Natralock offers the same benefits of clamshells, but with superior price stability, sustainability features and theft resistance, it seems a natural alternative to the frustration and injuries that come with clamshell packaging.”

According to the company, Natralock packaging is lighter, and offers advantages that reduce warehousing, transportation and shipping costs when compared to petroleum-based packaging. It requires fewer components, and achieves dependable, superior price stability by relying less on PET and PVC plastic resins – the prices of which continues to climb.

MWV says Natralock packaging increases production rates and efficiencies as well, sealing up to 40 to 60 percent faster on average, and that it reduces the need for manual labor by eliminating time-consuming insert sheets altogether. Natralock packaging can use existing sealing machinery, thus requiring little additional cost, making the switchover from clamshells quick, easy and inexpensive, according to the company.

Source: MeadWestvaco