The development of the process of blow moulding and the introduction of polyethylene as a packaging material in the first half of the 20th century enabled the convenient packaging and delivery of liquid household products. Sqezy (1 - 4) was a popular brand of UK washing up liquid. It was packaged in a soft, flexible, semi-rigid bottle made from low density polyethylene. Squeeze described the action employed to dispense the contents and for some, squeezy became a generic term for liquid detergents and the type of bottle in which it was packaged. These bottles were purely functional. They contained the liquid, provided a simple method of dispensing it and the outer surface offered a space to brand and market the product. A more unusual solution to the squeezable bottle design is demonstrated by the range of containers for METHOD (5 - 6). They are shaped to perform particular functions or to be stylilshly minimal, but they still rely upon the simple action of squeezing the bottle to make them function.
The squeezy bottle was turned on its head with the development and employment of the SimpliSqueeze® silicone valve (7 - 9) by SeaquistClosures. Opening only under pressure produced by squeezing the bottle, the valve allows the clean delivery of the contents with immediate cut off once pressure is released. All this relies upon the inherent squeeze-ability of the material from which the bottles are made.
