“Free access” products

Best Packaging 2024 focuses on the "accessibility" qualities of a properly designed package, facilitating the use of any product. The 28 packaging solutions selected for the historical contest (as well as two master's theses on the question) are on show in Milan during Design Week, with the final award ceremony on 19 April.

“A libero accesso” (Open access) is the title of the show dedicated to innovation in packaging design proposed by the Best Packaging 2024 contest: one of the events of the “Fuori Salone” events in Milan, it will be held from 15 to 21 April in the Archivolto area of via Marsala 3.

A flagship event for the Italian Packaging Institute, the contest this year explores the complex theme of product packaging accessibility, covering different aspects, from easy opening, to the clarity and transparency of information reported on the packaging.

Whether tangible or intangible, “open access” to the product must always be guaranteed, both for the consumer and for the economic operator, in compliance with “value number 4” of the Ethical Packaging Charter - which the competition is inspired by.

The 28 finalists selected (of which we report the salient data in the dedicated service, Ed.) will be on show with examples of accessible solutions, but also sustainable and cutting-edge packaging and technologies, in addition to two master’s theses.

Dynamic opportunities for discussion. The Best Packaging event offers a valuable opportunity for talking about technical, communication, design and legislative issues that revolve around the accessibility of packaging. Throughout the Design Week, there will be a number of activities for training and dissemination of the technical-scientific culture of packaging, of which we propose the following programme.

• Monday 15 April, the opening of the “A libero accesso” show, with the presentation of the book by Camilla Sernagiotto titled “Senza scadenza” (Without expiry), the publishing phenomenon from the end of 2023, dedicated to iconic packaging examples in our industrial history which are, precisely, without an expiry date, given that, even today, they create success for the product they contain;
• Professional refresher courses dedicated to sector operators have been announced on the themes of packaging printing performance (16 April), international environmental labelling (17 April) and how to construct the label of a food product from scratch (18 April).
• A number of large-scale events are also envisaged, completely free, open to the community of designers, students and sector operators.

- 16 April at 16.30, the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation Day, “Ethics and consumer protection in the light of new developments regarding the consumer code”;
- 17 April (10.00-16.30), “Design For Recycling” Masterclass curated by the World Packaging Organisation, free entry, but subject to registration;
- 19 April, awards ceremony for the winners of the Best Packaging 2024 contest, in partnership with the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation and with the patronage of Conai and Ipack-Ima 2025. Presented by Natasha Stefanenko. Contributions by Alessandra Fazio, President of the Italian Packaging Institute and Luigi De Nardo, ordinary professor of material science and technology at the Milan Polytechnic and President of the 2024 Jury.

NOTE. The piece dedicated to the finalists of the Best Packaging 2024 finalists has been drawn up by the ItaliaImballaggio editorial staff on the basis of texts in Italian and English provided by the companies.

Following, the 28 products in competition.

Category finalists: Thesis