Between the introduction in 2012 of detergent pods and the end of 2013, 17,000 children under the age of six have ingested or inhaled the detergent contained within the pods, or sprayed it in their eyes.
Single-dose detergents pods are packaged with attractive lines, soft textures, small size and flashy colors, just like the toys or sweets. It is this packaging and their small size that have attracted hundreds of children and this is what inspired us to develop some packaging solutions to keep children out of contact with the capsules, starting with 3 simple concepts.
Don't like
- Children eat detergent pods because they look like sweets.
- Children don’t eat vegetables.
- What is the most disgusting vegetable to a child?
Children will not eat pods in the shape of broccoli.
don't care
- Children are attracted by colours but often ignore neutral, boring objects.
- Children would ignore pods shaped like simple grey sheets.
- Children have small hands.
Large pods connected in tear-off sheets would be more difficult to handle and ingest.
Don't see
- It only takes a second for children to grab anything in their reach.
- Children are safer if the pods stay in Mum’s hands.
A single-dose dispenser would keep the product out of the sight and reach of children.
Several American Associations for the protection of children have invited the detergent pods manufacturers to review the design of their products, believing that the root of this problem lies in the appearance of the products.
We hope this challenge will stimulate dialogue and the search for solutions, because we believe that common sense, greater attention and concious packaging design, can help to reduce the number of home accidents involving children.
What do you think about this? Join the conversation by expressing your thoughts on Twitter, Google+ or Linkedin via the hashtag #SafePods.
