Easy to use
- Designed for everyone, tested by real people
- Making everyday easier for everyone
- Packaging that works – For all hands
- No Barriers - Just Access
We’ve launced a product label for packaging and products that have been rigorously tested and certified as Easy to use. This gives consumers the power to choose packaging that is truly simple to open – tested and approved by people with reduced hand function. Our mission is to make life easier and to give everyone who struggles with hard-to-open packaging the chance to use their consumer influence. Companies with certified products, and those selling items in Easy to use certified packaging, will have the opportunity to display the label under a licensing agreement. The label can also be featured in marketing to highlight the product’s accessibility. We believe this initiative will drive innovation and encourage the development of packaging that works for everyone – because ease of use should never be a privilege, it should be a standard.
We have received invaluable support from Texas Digital Agency in creating the label. They generously designed it for us free of charge – something we at the Swedish Rheumatism Association are truly grateful for, as we are a non-profit organisation with limited financial resources.
All revenue from product labelling will go directly towards promoting Easy to Use, with the goal of motivating more companies to develop solutions that work for every consumer – including the large and growing group of people who, for various reasons, have reduced hand function.
Contact Kristina Heilborn, [email protected]
Difficult packaging excludes a growing market. Inclusive design means more customers – and more revenue. Let people love your product, not hate your packaging.
Our Easy to use certification is based on usability test of packaging and products, carried out by individuals with impaired hand function.
Design for usability. Involve people with the highest demand early – it’s smart and cost-effective. If it works for those with limited hand function, it works for everyone
The ease of opening and handling the packaging can be crucial in determining whether customers are satisfied with their purchase or not.
The Swedish Rheumatism Association, founded in 1945, is the largest patient association in Sweden. We work for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
We have launched a product label for packaging and products that have been tested and certified as Easy to use.
What packaging and products has been tested and approved by the Swedish Rheumatism Association so far? Companies like Ecolean, Essity and Tetra Pak has tested products.
Easy to use test are carried out by people with impaires hand function, who generously lend their hands as measuring tools. Meet some of them here.
E-post: Kristina Heilborn
Giana Carli Lorenzini, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering Technology, Technical University of Denmark. She conducts research on patient‑centred pharmaceutical packaging and welfare technology, using a sociotechnical and inclusive design perspective, with a particular focus on how older people manage medicines at home. Her research shows that today’s medicine packaging is often difficult to understand and open, which can lead to misuse and increased risks to patient safety.
It’s not easy to get a package approved by the Swedish Rheumatism Association. One company has succeeded in having all its products approved and certified as Easy to use by the Swedish Rheumatism Association. That company is Ecolean, headquartered in Helsingborg, Sweden. Ecolean develops packaging and equipment for liquid food products. Their packages are used for items such as milk, yoghurt, cream, plant-based drinks and still beverages. The company is known for its lightweight and flexible packaging, designed to use less material than traditional alternatives. We had a brief chat with Cecilia Ask, the company’s Communication & Marketing Manager.
Following a proposal from the Swedish Rheumatism Association, Packnorth Award — the largest Nordic packaging competition — is introducing a new competition category: User-Friendly Packaging.