The Mist:Understood Aerosol and Pressurized Packaging Virtual Classroom responds to pandemic cancellations of in-person events and mirrors itself on massive open online course providers like Coursera and Google Digital Garage to bring the industry closer to its constituents.
Sponsors include the Western Aerosol Information Bureau, Consumer Aerosol Products Council, Eastern Aerosol Association, Midwest Aerosol Association, National Aerosol Association and Southern Aerosol Technical Association.
Demystifying aerosol and pressurized packaging
“With this effort we hope to not only demystify this world, but also spark excitement on what can be possible when using aerosol or pressurized packaging technologies,” said Lorne Lucree, Western Aerosol Information Bureau board member and an organizer of the initiative.
“Aerosol and pressurized packaging provide such invaluable benefits to consumers in so many categories, but understanding the technical aspects is often complicated.”
Raising awareness through tutorials is part of the platform’s mission to clear up lingering misconceptions about aerosols: “We’re here to set the record straight. Aerosol products have been a safe, and economical option for decades,” the mission statement reads.
And the answer to one frequently asked question about whether aerosol products harm the environment: “We get that a lot. No, they don’t! Ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were removed from most aerosol products in the early ‘70s even before their use in aerosols was banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1978.”
The platform also highlights aerosol benefits like better portion control, finer atomization and superior foaming across artisan, personal care and beauty, household, medical applications.
“I’m confident this will be a useful, free resource for the beauty community,” Lucree told Cosmetics-Design USA. “This is especially true for indie brands who often don’t understand the nuances of developing aerosols and don’t have the resources to do so but are excited by the format.”
Aerosol and packaging 101
The virtual classroom launched this week with a range of beginner level 101 courses covering topics like containers, propellants, caps, actuators, valves and recycling – an offering that Lucree says leverages “some of the industry’s most qualified experts to educate everyone ranging from industry employees to product developers.”
Content is created by global suppliers and associations including Aptar Home and Beauty, Montebello Packaging, Aeropres Corporation, Honeywell, Diversified CPC International, The Chemours Company, eStyle Caps and Closures, Silgan Dispensing Systems, Rackow Polymers, Lindal Group, and the Household & Commercial Products Association.
“With the global population now more and more online, the Aerosol and Pressurized Packaging Virtual Classroom provides easy-to-follow presentations telling the stories behind the information those of us in the industry sometimes take for granted,” said Mary Metzner, Western Aerosol Information Bureau administrator.
Additional content, including intermediate- and expert-level courses, will continue to be uploaded to the www.mistunderstood.com site.