Attend a baseball game or any other sporting event where sunflower seeds are the snack-of-choice and you'll see players and coaches trying to reseal opened sunflower seed packaging in all kinds of ways: elastic bands, tape, paper clips, and sometimes even transferring the remaining contents into a plain recloseable plastic bag.

The same do-it-yourself methods of resealing a package are also being applied to just about every other food or product group that comes in a flexible pouch. While these homemade techniques are frequently employed, none are particularly consumer- friendly or effective.