I knew I suffered from it, but I didn't know it had a name. The disorder is Wrap Rage, the resulting anger, frustration and occasional violence that results when you attempt to separate a product from ridiculous amounts of packaging. (I just want to say I wrote that sentence before I read the Wikipedia definition.) My arch enemy in the war against packaging is the clamshell, which was officially out of control when they invented a tool to open clamshells (surely itself sheathed in impenetrable plastic).
Amazon's mission with their Frustration-Free Packaging campaign is to work directly with companies to limit the amount of plastic, twist-ties and cardboard used to contain and display products. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote a letter to customers explaining the pilot program, which currently involves 15 products from Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend.
I commend Amazon for acknowledging the sheer amount of waste and energy that goes into over-packaging goods. Even more impressive is their sense of humor. Taken too far and too seriously, Amazon's project could be interpreted as antagonistic toward the very companies who supply the products they sell worldwide. And they could come across as easily dismissed, no-fun fuddy duddies like me who rant and rave about little things that irritate them but seem of little consequence to most people. This video showing how little time it takes to open, assemble and start playing with a frustration-free Fisher-Price pirate ship strikes the perfect balance between "Isn't too much packaging such a headache?" and the exaggerated infomercial-style "Waaahh! If I have to untwist another twist-tie my world is going to fall apart!" It also makes me want to buy a Fisher-Price pirate ship.
I hope more companies work with Amazon to create frustration-free packaging, especially to eliminate the plastics and Styrofoam that aren't recyclable. Even better if they reduce the whole mess, because I don't believe most people recycle even the parts that are recyclable. But I'll stop now before I start whining and my world falls apart.
Amazon's mission with their Frustration-Free Packaging campaign is to work directly with companies to limit the amount of plastic, twist-ties and cardboard used to contain and display products. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote a letter to customers explaining the pilot program, which currently involves 15 products from Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend.
I commend Amazon for acknowledging the sheer amount of waste and energy that goes into over-packaging goods. Even more impressive is their sense of humor. Taken too far and too seriously, Amazon's project could be interpreted as antagonistic toward the very companies who supply the products they sell worldwide. And they could come across as easily dismissed, no-fun fuddy duddies like me who rant and rave about little things that irritate them but seem of little consequence to most people. This video showing how little time it takes to open, assemble and start playing with a frustration-free Fisher-Price pirate ship strikes the perfect balance between "Isn't too much packaging such a headache?" and the exaggerated infomercial-style "Waaahh! If I have to untwist another twist-tie my world is going to fall apart!" It also makes me want to buy a Fisher-Price pirate ship.
I hope more companies work with Amazon to create frustration-free packaging, especially to eliminate the plastics and Styrofoam that aren't recyclable. Even better if they reduce the whole mess, because I don't believe most people recycle even the parts that are recyclable. But I'll stop now before I start whining and my world falls apart.
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