The Next Wave of Child Resistant Packaging

A child-resistant reclosable flexible pouch featuring the Child-Guard® track and slider with PCR materials for the safe containment of chlorine tablets and pool chemicals. Image courtesy of Fresh-Lock.

How flexible packaging can help enhance safety, sustainability, and usability for pool chemicals.

By Natalie Kaczorowski, Fresh-Lock® Business Development Manager

While products like chlorine tablets, pool shock, and pH balancers have traditionally been packaged in rigid pails, there is growing interest in flexible formats that reduce packaging weight and material use without compromising product integrity or consumer protection.

Importantly, flexible packaging can be engineered with child-resistant closures, addressing the critical safety and regulatory concerns that come with handling hazardous materials such as pool chemicals. In a market where compliance, durability, and consumer safety are paramount, flexible packaging offers a compelling alternative to rigid containers — especially with the addition of a child-resistant closure.

Raising the Standard for Safer Pool Chemical Packaging

Many pool chemicals are regulated by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission under the umbrella of hazardous substances, requiring child-resistant packaging for products that could be potentially harmful to children. This has historically limited brands to rigid formats. Since the advent of specialty closures for flexible packaging, certified child-resistant pouch options have become a viable, and often preferred solution.

While not every household has a pool, many children encounter them at the homes of friends and relatives, community centers, or vacation spots. Children should always be supervised in and around swimming pools; even when they are not in the water, hazards may still be present. Amid the fun of a summer day, it can be easy to overlook the potential risks of items stored around the pool area, in a supply closet, or a garage. Pool chemicals need to be stored securely, and flexible packaging with child-resistant features gives brands an opportunity to play a direct role in helping improve safety.

Child-resistant closures are designed to be difficult for children under five years of age to open, which creates a time delay barrier from product exposure. Safety doesn’t stop at the closure —  the flexible films used must also meet child-resistant standards and be robust enough to contain reactive chemicals without degrading.

There are many water treatment products that serve specific pool maintenance tasks like pH adjustment, sanitation and algae control. Chlorine-based products, in particular, are highly reactive and can pose risks if not properly contained. To reap the benefits of flexible materials, packagers employ a range of material technologies including polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, and oxygen barriers to enhance durability, temperature resistance, strength, and product protection.

Ditch the Pail: Improve the Consumer Experience with Flexible Packaging

While rigid pails have traditionally succeeded in protection, they often fall short in terms of consumer convenience. Pails are bulky, heavy, hard to open, and not well suited for e-commerce. For products like chlorine tablets, pails allow excessive movement of the product inside, leading to crumbling or breakage during shipping and handling.

Flexible packaging offers a more modern solution. Pouches take up less space, are lighter, and with the right closure, are easier to open and reclose. Plus, with the smaller product-to-package ratio, the product has less room to shift within the package.

Adding reclosability not only helps protect the product but also helps make daily pool maintenance easier — chlorine tabs stay intact, and the flexible pouches are simpler to store, carry, and open. Pool owners and service technicians need to regularly clean and test the pool to achieve safe and sanitary levels. This means they may be reaching for a puck or two, or balancers frequently. When consumers are reaching for these frequent-use items, a reclosable pouch helps demonstrate a brand’s commitment to consumer convenience — making pool upkeep less of a chore.

The award-winning Child-Guard® track and slider technology by Fresh-Lock® closures integrated with at least 25% PCR materials. Image courtesy of Fresh-Lock.

Flexible Packaging Works Harder for the Planet

Just as reclosable flexible pouches enhance convenience and safety, they also deliver meaningful sustainability benefits.

Sustainability is a growing priority in the pool chemical category, as it is across all consumer goods. While product protection and regulatory compliance remain essential, many brands are looking to reduce their environmental footprint through improved packaging choices. Flexible formats typically use notably less material, weigh less than rigid pails, and optimize cube efficiency — allowing more units per shipment. This helps reduce the use of raw materials, lowers greenhouse gas emissions during transportation, and ultimately decreases transportation costs.

Material selection further supports sustainability efforts. The Waste Management Hierarchy prioritizes waste reduction strategies from most to least preferred, emphasizing reduction, reuse, and recycling. Closures made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content align with these principles, reducing demand for virgin resin, conserving resources, and lowering energy use in material production — all while contributing to a more circular packaging system.

Choosing packaging that combines high-performance, recyclable materials, lightweight formats, and closures with PCR content helps brands demonstrate environmental responsibility without compromising on safety or performance.

The Waste Management Hierarchy. Image provided by Fresh-Lock® closures

It’s Time to Rethink Pool Chemical Packaging

As flexible packaging options continue to evolve, brands should be evaluating how they can consistently add value, whether for manufacturers, retailers, or the end consumer. Packaging decisions are no longer just about containment; they’re about protection, safety, convenience, sustainability, brand visibility, and more. Brands that recognize packaging as a strategic asset—rather than an afterthought — will be best positioned to lead in a marketplace that values innovation and responsibility.

About the Author

Natalie Kaczorowski is the Fresh-Lock® Business Development Manager. The Fresh-Lock® brand is the market leader in press-to-close zipper and track & slider reclosable solutions for flexible packaging. Fresh-Lock® products are designed and produced by Presto Products, a business of Reynolds Consumer Products. Visit: https://fresh-lock.com/