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Age Concern and Help the Aged have launched an Age OK logo, which will appear on "age friendly" products and services.

The launch follows the publication of research carried out by the charities, which revealed that one in five people aged over 60 said that difficult to open packaging would stop them purchasing a product.

Of those surveyed, half said they felt UK businesses were "youth obsessed".

According to the charities, companies that fail to make their packaging "age-friendly" could be losing out on the estimated £250bn spent by older people every year.

Businesses wishing to apply for the standard will first have to become a member of the engage network at a cost of £1,000, before completing a £1,500 application for each product or service.

An audit committee will then assess the application and make a  recommendation to the approval committee. The complete process should take six months in total.

"The needs of older people, despite the fact they make up one third of the population, continue to be ignored by businesses, including those in the packaging industry," said charity director of Age Concern and Help the Aged Michelle Mitchell.

"Our research shows that if product packaging and design does not factor in the needs of older people, they may simply choose not to buy those products."

Sky will be the first company to feature the logo on its remote control packaging, after it was involved in trialling the scheme.

The charities also plan to launch a organisational accreditation in 2010.