Containers for essential oils

Essential oils are a natural way to infuse your products with aromatic and medicinal uniqueness. Essential oils are concentrated compounds extracted from plants and can pack a punch not only in aromatic intensity, but in your container. To prevent deterioration and permeation, it's imperative that products containing essential oils are packaged in the right kind of container.

Use glass or aluminum for storing "pure" essential oils. Pure essential oils are very potent. Care should be taken to ensure they are stored in an airtight container. All oils have different properties and caution and experimentation should be used in determining what kind of container will work best. Most sources recommend a glass bottle with an airtight lid. Rubber and plastic containers and cap components can be damaged and deteriorated by pure essential oils.

Take care to prolong the life of your pure essential oils by storing in a cool, dark, dry place. Sunlight can accelerate the expiration of your essential oils. Some sources recommend using dark amber or cobalt blue colored glass bottles.

• View all amber glass containers
• View all cobalt blue glass containers
• View all aluminum containers

Use plastic or aluminum for products containing "diluted" essential oils. Plastic containers, specifically PET, have been shown to store some products containing essential oils remarkably well. In many cases, essential oils are added to lotions or other products. When mixed with a lotion, for example, the essential oil's potency is diluted. Its capacity to infuse the lotion with aroma is not diminished, but its capacity to damage plastic and rubber is. Aluminum containers may also be good options for products containing both pure and diluted essential oils.

PET may also be an excellent alternative to glass for some products. It is less expensive than a comparable glass container, weighs less than glass, and recycles well. PET bottles and jars may be a good option for storing products containing essential oils because it has a high permeability resistance rating.

• View all amber PET containers
• View all cobalt blue PET containers
• View all clear PET containers

Please test your product/container compatibility. Essential oils are powerful substances with a myriad of properties and potencies. We strongly recommend you test the effect your product will have on your container. We offer free samples of most of our products so that you can test your product with our containers and closures. We cannot guarantee that any container will function properly with your particular product.

Container & Packaging Supply assumes no responsibility for suitability of any container or closure for customer's particular use. It is the customer's responsibility to do product compatibility testing with container and closure selected by customer. We are not responsible for consequential damages arising from customer's selection and use of containers and closures supplied by us.

• Ordering free samples is easy
• Please read our entire disclalimer

Why we need packaging

Packaging and labeling have several objectives:

Physical protection - The product may require protection from shock, temperature, or compression. Bodyguards are not a cost effective way to go.

Barrier protection - The product may require protection from oxygen, water vapor or dust. Some packages contain oxygen desiccants to extend shelf-life.

Containment or agglomeration (isn't that a great word?) - Small products are typically grouped together (think of those small army men figures, or marshmallows, or pencils). It is not cost-effective to individually package each item. Imagine trying to make Rice-Krispie® treats with individually wrapped marshmallows.

Information transmission - Packaging also communicates how the product should be used, transmitted, or disposed. Believe it or not, some people don't know how to use a marshmallow. Step 1, unwrap your marshmallow. Step 2, raise marshmallow to your mouth. Step 3, open your mouth ...

Marketing - (My favorite part, and arguably the MOST important of all) Packaging is often the first part of the product a customer will see and is overwhelmingly influential in whether or not the product gets purchased. In the picture above, can you actually SEE the ramen in the pack, or the pineapple in the can, or the yogurt in the tub, or the Pringles® chips in the ... tall cardboard tube thingy with a tub lid? Not always ... the packaging helps with that. Packaging is where you get to make your sales pitch.

Security - Packaging can be made to be tamper-evident, or prevent pilferage. Some packaging can also show whether or not a product is counterfeit. Think of medicines, drugs and Microsoft products.

Convenience - Packaging can be designed to make shipping, handling, stacking, use, and storage easier. Would you rather lug around a 50 pound bag of sugar on your shoulder at the grocery store, or carry 50 pounds of sugar with a nifty and "convenient" handle? (This is not a trick question).

All of these purposes should be considered when developing a package for a product. Packaging dry pasta in a tin can (like you would package pineapple) would be overkill. Pasta doesn't need the same kind of physical and barrier protection that pineapple does.

So, how are you going to remember these 8 packaging purposes? Don't worry, I made up a few mnemonics for it. Ahem ...

1. Peanut Butter Cracker Is My Susan's Catastrophe.
2. Please Beat Carpets In My Shoe Closet.
3. Packages Bearing Countless Infants Make Serious Cacophony.
4. Parakeets Bite Children In My Shopping Cart.

FDA Reaffirms Safety of BPA

In a comprehensive draft scientific assessment issued today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly reaffirms the safety of food-contact products containing bisphenol A (BPA). Bisphenol A is used to make polycarbonate plastic products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, and is used in epoxy linings of cans to help to protect the safety and integrity of foods and beverages.

Read full article here

Color psychology: Picking the right color

Color is everywhere and it impacts decisions you make everyday. What does it mean? How can you maximize impact? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms? What colors in which constructs can maximize impact?

Color psychology is the study of how color affects you. And when you've got less than three seconds to catch a shopper's eye, picking the right colors is imperative.

Yellow is the most noticeable color. It is also the hardest color for the human eye to process. If you're wanting your product to catch consumers' eyes, yellow seems like a good idea; and if you are selling a citrus-based product, then yellow makes sense. However, using yellow to catch the eye for a calming lavendar-scented lotion may not be the best idea. Yellow is energy. Blues and purples are soothing and calming. Read more about the psychology of color below:

Black is the color of power and authority. Black is popular in clothing and fashion because it has a slimming effect. It can also denote submission (priests showing submission to God), evil (in the case of villains), decay and death. It is also the "go to" color for almost everything because, like white, it is the ultimate neutral.

White symbolizes purity, innocence and simplicity. White can be partnered with any color because, like black, it is the ultimate neutral. White clears the mind, and enables a fresh start (think of a blank piece of paper). It is the antithesis of clutter and chaos. White can also be seen as sterile ... clean yet lacking life. Think hospitals.

Red is the most powerful color. Red represents aggression, appetite, activity, and love. Red is an extreme color and is easily noticed. It is used a lot in restaurants and dining to stimulate appetite. Red increases enthusiasm, energy, and confidence. Pink (which is red with more white) has almost an opposite affect. Pink is a tranquilizer.

Orange is one of the most controversial colors. Orange evokes a "love it/hate it" response in a lot of people. Orange, like red, stimulates activity, appetite, socialization, and creativity. It is bright and cheerful, getting the notice that red does without the aggressive undertones. Some shades of orange have broader appeal: peach, rust, tera cotta for example.

Yellow is a cheerful color, yet it should be used with caution. Yellow is the most difficult color for the eye to process. People lose their tempers and babies cry more in yellow rooms (time to repaint the nursery). Yellow aids concentration and speeds metabolism. Yellow symbolizes happiness, cheerfulness, optimism, but also illness and decay.

Green is the most visible color to the human eye and is second only to blue as a favorite color. Natural greens are calming and refreshing. Green represents nature, peace, relaxation, health, harmony, wealth, and fertility. Some greens, however can seem institutional (money, government), or have undertones of illness, slime, or envy.

Blue is the most popular color, and the most gender generic. It is the color of the ocean and sky. Blue is calming and relaxing but can also be seen as cold, uncaring or depressing. Blue is an appetite suppressant, historically blue foods were poisonous. Not all blues are sedate, however, bright blues can be seen as electric and exhilarating.

Purple is the combination of red and blue. It is a dichotomy of aggression and calm. This can create a sense of uneasiness unless the undertone (is it more red or more blue) is clear. Purple connotes luxury, royalty, wealth and sophistication. It is also a feminine color and romantic. It can also appear artificial since it is rarely found in nature.

Brown is the color of reliability and stability. It is the color of our earth and evokes feelings of wholesomeness, nature, order, health and vitality. Brown can also be somber or wistful. This effect can be reduced by partnering it with oranges and reds. Light brown can be lighthearted, whereas dark browns like wood or leather are more hearty and somber.