Monday, November 17, 2008

Hallelujah!  Product Packaging That You Can Actually Open.

by Teresa

This is a true story: We actually have a gift someone gave us for one of the kids, years ago, that we’ve never used, that is still in its packaging.  The contents are delicate, but the plastic around it is practically impenetrable.  My husband and I have both tried to open it.  We’ve both cut our hands on plastic shards.  But we’ve only made a small hole—not big enough to get the object out.  We don’t want to do something really rough with it, for fear of breaking the object inside. 
We talked, at one point, about bringing the hedge clippers in from the garage to finish cracking the darn thing open, but ultimately, we just shelved it.  And there it sits.  Three years later.
That’s one reason why I was so happy to read this article in the New York Times.
The story also talks about the tiny wire twisty ties, and their insidious counterparts, the clear elastic bands, that secure every single teeny tiny part of every toy that comes in a box with a clear platic front.  The tiny plastic pets my daughter likes, for example.  They come in sealed plastic bubbles attached to cardboard backing.  Clearly, the toy is not going anywhere until you get it open.  Still, the cute little things are each strapped in with a half-dozen elastic bands that have to be twisted, untangled, pried off or stretched and cut before you can actually hand the toy to the child.
I think it’s a great idea to simplify the packaging on toys and other products.  As an added bonus, if manufacturers get on board with this idea, they’ll also be kinder to the environment.  Fewer packing materials = less garbage going to landfills!