IDES3102: June 2014

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Frustrating packaging

Product packaging can be frustrating, impenetrable and sometimes downright dangerous. That’s why we’ve launched Pack Attack – a campaign calling on consumers to take action against bad packaging. And we want to hear your bad packaging stories. You can send photos of the packaging and a description of the problem to packattack@choice.com.au. We’ll take your complaint to the Australian Packaging Covenant and ask for a response from the manufacturer. Whether it’s electrical goods encased in hard plastic clamshells, jars of your favourite jam sealed super-tight or kids’ toys pinned down with innumerable ties and plugs, CHOICE thinks you should be able to enjoy the goods you buy without needing to attack them first. Read more..

When packaging attacks
CHOICE calls to end frustrating packaging

In response to the pervasiveness of frustrating, impenetrable and potentially dangerous packaging, CHOICE is today launching “Pack Attack”, a campaign calling on manufacturers to adopt packaging that doesn’t require knives, scissors or super-human strength to access. “Many items are now so wrapped up that some consumers simply cannot open them. Trying to bust out an electrical item sealed in a hard plastic container or twist open a vacuum-sealed glass jar is not only prompting ‘wrap rage’ but also leaving some people injured,” said CHOICE’s Angela McDougall.

To tackle the problem, CHOICE is calling on consumers to send in their photos and a description of examples of bad packaging. The consumer group will then make a complaint on their behalf to the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) and report back on responses from manufacturers.

In December 2012, Readers Digest commissioned a survey of 500 people in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia on packaging problems. Sixty four percent of people who said they had injured themselves on packaging suffered deep cuts, broken or chipped teeth, bruises or broken nails.
“While packaging accessibility can affect us all, it is a particular problem for those suffering from arthritis, poor eyesight, reduced hand strength as well as some older people,” says Ms McDougall.

The serial offenders

The clamshell: A classic cause of “wrap rage”, the clamshell does such a good job of sealing electronic goods, razors and toys in a hard seal of plastic that consumers often need scissors, razor blades and knives to open the product. Some websites even recommend a tin opener!

The glass jar: Sometimes you need the strength of a superhero to pry the lid off a sauce jar which has been tightly vacuum sealed. Banging the jar down on a bench or running hot water over the lid are popular but somewhat dangerous options.

Imprisoned toys: Many toys often come wrapped to death in cardboard, plastic boxes and a nasty mix of sharp wires, cable ties, plastic spikes and sticky tape. Children often lose interest or turn hysterical while hapless parents struggle to liberate the toy.

The Checkout > Serving size labelling

The Checkout | ABC1
Season 2 Episode 7 | 3 Apr 2014
Serving size me
Kirsten Drysdale gives serving size advice on food packages a massive serve.

The Checkout > Exaggerated marketing claims

The Checkout | ABC1

Season 2 Episode 6 | 25 Apr 2013
Superfoods
They’re ancient, exotic, jam-packed full of antioxidants, and all come with the same steaming side dish: a hearty helping of bullshit. Read the Choice report.

Season 2 Episode 3 | 6 Mar 2014
Chlorophyll
Looks great on the outside, but what’s on the inside?

Season 2 Episode 4 | 13 Mar 2014
Ethical Tuna Is there something fishy about Tuna? Guest reporter Kate Wild looks at some of the issues involved when deciding which brand of tuna to buy.

Season 2 Episode 6 | 27 Mar 2014
Free range eggs
When it comes to free range eggs, are we getting what we pay for? Craig Reucassel goes undercover to investigate the cagey world of egg accreditation and labelling.

Season 1 Episode 7 | 2 May 2013
Permeate-free milk
Kirsten Drysdale heads to the farm to answer the question no-one’s actually asking... what the hell is permeate? And why milk companies are now boasting that they don’t use it.

Season 2 Episode 10 | 29 May 2014
'Fresh'
Ben Jenkins provides a refreshing look at difference between the dictionary definition of “fresh” and how it is used in a “retail environment”.

The

Season 2 Episode 19 | 3 Jul 2014
Recycled toilet paper
Kate Wild unravels the meaning of eco logos on toilet paper, with the help of an adorable puppy.

See also:
Fooled by food labels

Material Recovery Facilities MRF

The Gruen Transfer > Plain packaging

The Gruen Transfer | ABC1
Season 2 Episode 10 | 1 May 2013
The pitch: A campaign to convince us all products should come in plain packaging.

Series 3 Episode 11 27 Sep 2010
Ad Crunch: Plain packaging

The Checkout > Bogus petcare products

The Checkout | ABC1

10 Apr 2014
The Loving Pet Owner: Looking Good
Zoe Norton Lodge is The Checkout's Loving Pet Owner, and this week she presents a guide to keeping your pet fashionable.

27 Mar 2014
The Loving Pet Owner: Relax
The Checkout's Loving Pet Owner Zoe Norton Lodge provides a guide to keeping your pet stress free.

5 Jun 2014
The Loving Pet Owner: Self Improvement
Zoe Norton Lodge as the loving pet owner reveals how to improve your pet.

6 Mar 2014
The Loving Pet Owner: Food
Zoe Norton Lodge is the loving pet owner. This week she loves some of the weird and less-than-wonderful food products you can buy for your pets.

12 Jun 2014
The Loving Pet Owner: Fitness
Zoe Norton Lodge gives pet fitness products a work out.

The Checkout > Purchasing behaviours

The Checkout
Season 1 Episode 2 | 28 Mar 2013
The Rational Consumer
Products are sold the way they are, from brand to positioning, because of years of psychological studies performed on consumers like us. If consumers understood those studies and the tricks of the trade The Checkout wonders if it would help us make better purchasing choices? Craig Reucassel goes shopping with Paul Harrison, someone who understands psychology and marketing to find out what shopping's like through his eyes.

The Checkout > Nutritional Labelling

The Checkout | ABC1
Season 2 Episode 11 | 5 Jun 2014
Scott Abbot examines the war between food manufacturers and consumer groups over the proposed health star rating system for front of packs.

Food labels. NSW Food Authority.

The Checkout > Access vs Ownership

Season 1 Episode | 25 Apr 2013 ABC1
Access vs Ownership
Rachel Botsman, author of "What's Mine Is Yours", and Julian Morrow look at collaborative consumption and the new ways of turning your stuff into cash.

The Checkout > Deceptive Product Naming

The Checkout
Season 1 Episode | 9 May 2013
What's in a name?
Subway's "foot-long" sandwiches, "Vitamin" Water, "Secure" Parking.

The Checkout > Pharmaceutical labelling

Season 1 Episode | 22 Apr 2013 ABC1
Chronic Pain
Julian Morrow and Kirsten Drysdale, with the help of Andrew McLachlan (Professor of Pharmacy for the University of Sydney) give Nurofen and other pharmaceutical companies a headache over bogus medicine variants that are painfully expensive. Is the most active ingredient actually marketing?

Season 1

Episode , 2 May 2013
Spoilt for choice: Toothpaste
Julian Morrow goes toothpaste shopping and finds the ridiculous amount of product differentiation is a real mouthful.

Season 2 Episode | 27 Mar 2014 ABC1
Napisan Vanish has changed. The lid is bigger... so you use it up more quickly. No wonder they call it Vanish.

Season 2 Episode | 6 Mar 2014 ABC1
What's the difference between Allergan Refresh Tears Plus Eye Drops and Allergan Refresh Contacts Drops for Contact Lens Wearers? Apart from bogus product differentiation?

Season 2 Episode | 20 Feb 2014 ABC1
What's the difference between Johnson's Sorbolene and Johnson's Baby Sorbolene? Apart from the price?

Season 2 Episode | 10 Apr 2014
Apart from the price, what's the difference between Hy-Clor's Pool and Spa care products? The word 'spa'.

The Checkout: Product Obsolescence

Season 1 Episode | 2 May 2013
A load of rubbish
Julian Morrow looks at Obsolescence.....printers, razors, light-bulbs, washing machines and even Apples - products that are designed to be thrown away, and marketing that's designed to make you not want them.

The Checkout: Absurd baby products

The Checkout
Kate Browne shines a light on some of the worst examples of baby consumerism marketed at guilty parents.

Season 2 Episode 13 | 19 Jun 2014 ABC1
Guilty Mum: Food

Season 1 Episode 3 | 9 Apr 2013 ABC1
Guilty Mum: Healthy

Season 2 Episode | 3 Apr 2014
Guilty Mum: Teething

Season 1 Episode | 21 Mar 2013 ABC1
Guilty Mum: Baby bums

Season 1 Episode | 22 Apr 2013
Guilty Mum: Sleep

Season 1 Episode | 2 May 2013
Guilty Mum: Safe

Season 1 Episode | 30 May 2013
Guilty Mum: Smart

Season 2 Episode | 26 Feb 2014
Guilty Mum: Toilet Training

The Checkout > Product differentiation

Season 1 Episode , 2 May 2013
Spoilt for choice: Toothpaste
Julian Morrow goes toothpaste shopping and finds the ridiculous amount of product differentiation is a real mouthful.

The Checkout > Truthful labelling

NSW Food Authority has a brochure on food labels and what information needs to be included.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has guidelines on labelling, including truth in labelling.

Product Tampering:
The Checkout redesigns the packaging on popular products to show you what’s really in the box.

Season 1 Episode 1, 21 Mar 2013
Golden Circle Sunshine Punch

Season 1 Episode 2, 28 Mar 2013
Ribena Fruit Drink

Season 2

Season 2 Episode 4, 12 Apr 2013
Strawberry Indulgence

The Checkout > Organic labelling

The Checkout, Season 2 Episode 15, 5 Jun 2014 ABC1
Organic
We pay a hefty premium for “organic” foods – Kirsten Drysdale asks if extra costs are justified.

The Checkout > Cosmetics labelling

The Checkout | ABC1
Season 2 Episode 13 | 19 Jun 2014
Skin care made simple
Kirsten Drysdale and Zoe Norton Lodge decode the beauty myth – with some help from Mark Holden.

Product safety: Ingredients labelling on cosmetics: Supplier Guide.
©2013 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

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