You’ve just bought a newest gadget in the store and now it’s time to unwrap it and get down to business.
But not so fast.
The gadget is wrapped — no, CLENCHED — with the nearly impenetrable plastic packaging known as a clamshell. The only way you’ll release the gadget in this lifetime is with a hacksaw and at least three armed members of the KGB.
Fortunately, moments of desperation like these may be on their way out. (And not just because armed members of the KGB are in short supply these days.)
High oil prices have manufacturers and big retailers reconsidering the use of so much plastic, and some are aggressively looking for cheaper substitutes. Companies are scuttling plastic of all kinds wherever they can.
To save money and address complaints, retailers and manufacturers started minimizing packaging. A major online retailer, for example, introduced a “frustration-free packaging” initiative in 2008 intended to defuse wrap rage and be more eco-friendly.
They’re not alone.
Source: NY Times, June 2011
