⏳5 minutes of your time could win you a $50 gift card! 🎉Help us design our new adaptive apparel launch by sharing your experience. 👕 Link Here 👈
Accessibility in beauty packaging is not a small detail. For someone with arthritis, tremors, limited grip strength, chronic pain, low vision, or fatigue, the difference between an easy-to-open product and a frustrating one can shape the entire daily routine. Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative has brought this conversation into the mainstream by treating packaging usability as a design priority, not an afterthought. For June Adaptive, this shift feels deeply familiar because inclusive design has always been about making everyday life easier, more comfortable, and more dignified.
Research Findings Shared Openly With Industry
Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative began with a simple but powerful idea: beauty products should be easier to open, hold, and apply. On its Made Accessible page, Rare Beauty explains that the initiative grew from user feedback and founder Selena Gomez’s own attention to packaging that is easy to open, close, hold, and apply. The brand also states that it is partnering with the Casa Colina Research Institute to understand what makes products more accessible and plans to make that information widely available to the beauty industry.
That last part matters. Many brands say they care about inclusion, but Rare Beauty is moving the conversation toward shared learning. Instead of keeping accessibility knowledge locked inside one company, the initiative points toward a more open model: research, test, learn, and share.
Casa Colina Research Institute, part of Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare in California, conducts clinical and rehabilitation research. Rare Beauty says experts at CCRI studied product attributes that help or hinder usability and satisfaction for users with disabilities, including grip, maneuverability, packaging design, and applicators.
This is important because accessibility should not rely only on assumptions. A designer may think a cap is easy to twist because it feels easy in a meeting room. But a person with reduced hand strength, joint pain, one-handed use, or limited fine motor control may experience that same cap very differently.
Accessible design research can answer questions like:
-
How much force does it take to open the package? A cap that requires strong twisting may exclude people with arthritis, injury, or reduced grip strength.
-
Can the product be used one-handed? This matters for people with limb differences, stroke-related weakness, tremors, or anyone holding a mobility aid, child, or medical device.
-
Does the surface support grip? Smooth, glossy packaging may look elegant but can become slippery, especially with lotion, water, or limited dexterity.
-
Is the applicator comfortable to control? A wand, pump, brush, or dispenser should support precision without demanding perfect hand steadiness.
For the consumer packaged goods industry, this kind of research creates a path forward. It shows that accessibility is not just a nice message on a campaign page. It can be studied, measured, and built into product development.
Design Guidelines for Packaging and Applicators
Rare Beauty has identified three key accessibility features in its Made Accessible work: packaging that is easy to use, packaging finishes that allow for a secure grip, and applicators that are comfortable to hold and maneuver with precision.
Those three ideas may sound simple, but they can change how the entire beauty industry thinks about packaging. For decades, packaging has often prioritized shelf appeal, luxury cues, and brand recognition. Those things still matter, but they cannot come at the expense of usability.
A beautiful product that cannot be opened is not truly well designed.
Rare Beauty’s approach shows how accessibility can be integrated without making a product feel clinical or separate. The packaging still feels stylish and recognizable, but the design choices also serve people with dexterity challenges. That balance is essential. Inclusive design should not ask people to choose between function and beauty.
Some practical design guidelines emerging from this approach include:
-
Larger, easier-to-grip components: Wider caps, rounded handles, and ergonomic shapes can make products easier to hold.
-
Textured or soft-touch finishes: A secure grip can reduce slipping and improve confidence during application.
-
Reduced opening force: Caps, pumps, and closures should not require excessive twisting, pulling, pinching, or pressing.
-
Stable applicators: Brushes, wands, and pumps should support control for users with tremors, weakness, or limited coordination.
-
Clear sensory feedback: A click, lock, tactile marker, or visible indicator can help users know whether a product is open, closed, or ready to use.
These ideas extend far beyond makeup. They apply to skincare jars, shampoo bottles, deodorants, toothpaste tubes, medication packaging, household cleaners, food containers, and even apparel packaging.
At June Adaptive, we see the same principle in clothing. A button may look classic, but it can be difficult for someone with limited hand mobility. A tight neckline may look sleek, but it can be painful for someone recovering from surgery. A waistband may seem standard, but it can become uncomfortable for a seated wearer. Design is only successful when it works in real life.
Target Collaboration on Accessibility Resources
Retailers have a major role to play in making accessible products easier to find, compare, and trust. Retail Dive reported in 2024 that Rare Beauty and Target had taken steps to develop guidance around universally accessible design, while also noting that the beauty industry was not yet prioritizing accessibility at the level it should.
That point is worth pausing on. Accessibility is not only a brand issue. It is also a retail issue. If accessible products are hard to identify online, missing from store shelves, poorly labeled, or grouped only in medical-looking categories, many consumers will never find them.
Target has separately stated that it aims to be a market leader in creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences by 2030. While sustainability and accessibility are not the same thing, they both point to a larger retail trend: shoppers increasingly expect products to be designed with real-world impact in mind.
For accessibility resources to work across beauty and CPG, retailers can help by:
-
Creating clearer product filters: Customers should be able to search for easy-open packaging, one-handed use, fragrance-free formulas, adaptive features, tactile labels, or low-vision-friendly design.
-
Encouraging brand standards: Retailers can ask suppliers to consider accessibility in packaging briefs, product testing, and customer feedback loops.
-
Improving product pages: Online listings should include photos of caps, pumps, applicators, opening mechanisms, label size, and dimensions.
-
Making accessibility visible in stores: Shelf tags, QR codes, and plain-language signage can help shoppers understand what makes a product easier to use.
This matters because accessibility is often invisible until it fails. A shopper may not know a bottle is hard to open until they are already home. A person buying for a parent, partner, patient, or child may not know what features to look for. Retailers can bridge that gap by making accessible design easier to recognize.
For June Adaptive, this connects directly to adaptive apparel. When customers shop for clothing, they should not have to guess whether a piece will work for seated wear, limited mobility, sensory sensitivity, or caregiver-assisted dressing. Clear design information is part of accessibility.
Free Toolkits for Brand Implementation
One of the most exciting parts of Rare Beauty’s initiative is the idea of making accessibility insights available to the broader industry. Rare Beauty says it plans to use its research partnership findings for future packaging decisions and make the information widely available to the beauty industry.
That kind of open resource could function like a practical toolkit for brands. Not every company has an in-house accessibility team, a research partnership, or the budget to run large usability studies. But many brands could start improving packaging if they had clear guidelines, testing questions, and examples.
A useful accessibility toolkit for beauty and CPG brands could include:
-
User testing templates: Questions for people with disabilities, older adults, caregivers, and people with temporary injuries.
-
Packaging scorecards: A way to rate grip, opening force, one-handed use, label readability, applicator comfort, and storage ease.
-
Design examples: Photos or diagrams showing easier caps, pumps, textures, shapes, and applicators.
-
Accessibility language guidance: Clear ways to describe features without sounding medical, patronizing, or vague.
-
Retail implementation tips: Guidance for product pages, shelf labels, packaging icons, and customer education.
This kind of practical resource can help shift accessibility from “we should think about that someday” to “we can start testing this now.”
Other major companies have also recognized the importance of sharing accessibility design lessons. For example, Olay launched an Easy Open Lid designed with input from people with limited mobility, physical and occupational therapists, and other experts, and the brand said it shared the design broadly with the beauty industry to encourage wider adoption. Microsoft also offers an inclusive packaging guide that covers principles, practices, and metrics for accessible packaging.
This growing library of examples matters because accessibility improves when brands stop treating it as proprietary. No one company should “own” the idea that people deserve products they can open, hold, read, apply, and enjoy.
Measuring Impact Across CPG Industry Adoption
The next challenge is measurement. A beautiful campaign can raise awareness, but real impact happens when accessible design becomes normal across product categories.
Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative is helping create a model, but industry-wide adoption will require brands, retailers, packaging suppliers, researchers, and consumers to track what actually changes. Retail Dive’s 2024 reporting made clear that while some brands and retailers are taking steps, the beauty industry still has work to do before accessibility becomes a true priority.
So how can the CPG industry measure progress?
A few useful indicators include:
-
Number of products redesigned for accessibility: Brands can track how many products are updated with easier caps, better grips, clearer labels, or more usable applicators.
-
Disability-inclusive user testing: Companies can measure whether people with disabilities are included before launch, not just after complaints come in.
-
Customer satisfaction and return data: If packaging is easier to use, brands may see fewer complaints about opening, dispensing, or applying products.
-
Retail visibility: Product pages and shelves can be audited for whether accessibility features are clearly explained.
-
Cross-category adoption: The goal is not just accessible makeup. It is accessible skincare, haircare, personal care, cleaning products, food packaging, and apparel.
The most meaningful metric, though, is human experience. Can someone with hand pain open the product without asking for help? Can someone with low vision identify what they are using? Can a caregiver complete a routine more smoothly? Can a person feel independent, stylish, and respected?
That is the heart of inclusive design.
Why Rare Beauty’s Work Matters Beyond Beauty
Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative is important because it changes the definition of “inclusive beauty.” For years, beauty inclusion has often focused on shade ranges, representation, and marketing diversity. Those things still matter. But accessibility asks another essential question: who can actually use the product?
Selena Gomez has publicly discussed how arthritis connected to lupus influenced Rare Beauty’s packaging decisions, including her desire to make products easier for people with dexterity challenges. People reported in 2025 that Gomez described difficulty opening everyday objects and said Rare Beauty began designing products intentionally for people with dexterity problems.
That lived-experience connection helps make the initiative feel more authentic. It is not accessibility as a trend. It is accessibility as a response to real needs.
And the lesson travels well. In adaptive fashion, the same shift is happening. Clothing brands are realizing that inclusive design is not only about size range or visual representation. It is about whether someone can get dressed independently, comfortably, safely, and confidently.
For June Adaptive, this is where Rare Beauty’s work feels especially relevant. Beauty packaging and adaptive apparel may seem like different industries, but both touch daily routines. Both affect confidence. Both can either create friction or reduce it.
A product designed with accessibility in mind says something powerful to the person using it: you were considered from the start.
What CPG Brands Can Learn From Made Accessible
Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative offers several lessons for beauty and CPG brands that want to do better.
First, start with the user experience. Ask people what is difficult, what hurts, what takes too long, and what makes them avoid a product. Accessibility improvements often begin with listening.
Second, work with experts. Rare Beauty’s partnership with Casa Colina Research Institute shows the value of involving rehabilitation professionals, researchers, and participants with lived experience.
Third, design accessibility into the product, not around it. A separate adaptive attachment can be helpful, but the long-term goal should be mainstream products that are easier for more people from the beginning.
Fourth, share what works. The more brands publish guidelines, toolkits, and design learnings, the faster the industry can move.
Finally, remember that accessible design benefits more people than many brands realize. A cap that is easier to grip helps someone with arthritis, but it also helps a tired parent, a person with wet hands, someone recovering from an injury, an older adult, or anyone who simply does not want to fight with packaging before bed.
That is the beauty of inclusive design. It starts with specific needs, then improves the experience for everyone.
The Future of Accessible CPG Is Collaborative
The future of accessible consumer products will not be built by one brand alone. Rare Beauty is helping push the conversation forward, but lasting change will require an ecosystem: brands willing to test, retailers willing to educate, packaging suppliers willing to innovate, and customers willing to share honest feedback.
That is also why June Adaptive’s mission matters. Adaptive clothing is part of a larger movement toward products that respect real bodies, real routines, and real access needs. Whether someone is applying makeup, opening a moisturizer, putting on a shirt, or choosing pants that work while seated, the goal is the same: reduce unnecessary barriers.
Rare Beauty’s Made Accessible Initiative shows that accessibility can be beautiful, mainstream, research-informed, and shareable. It reminds the CPG industry that inclusion is not complete until products can actually be used by the people they are meant to serve.
And that is the standard worth building toward.
Women’s Adaptive Open-Back Tonal Knit Dress
Women's Easy-Access Open-Back Floral Snap Top
Men’s Back-Overlap Assisted Dressing Twill Pants
If you enjoyed this blog, please sign up to the June Adaptive Newsletter below to receive more updates! Share your experience in our 5-minute survey to inform our new adaptive apparel launch. Get a chance to win a $50 gift card Link here
