Toys packaged like all the gold in Fort Knox….

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Doreen

(Scenario: Christmas morning. Family gathered. Piles of presents. Happy faces.)

* Obnoxious amount of gifts from “Santa”: $812
* Pristinely decorated artificial Christmas tree: $349
* Evergreen-scented soy candle: $22
* Not swearing profusely while you try to extract your kid’s gift from the package: PRICELESS!

Who hasn’t found themselves in this scenario… it sometimes feels like you need a screwdriver, wire cutters, pliers and a blowtorch to get the toy out of the box, thanks to those tightly wound plastic-coated wires, screws and extra cardboard strategically folded and molded to hold the contents in place! And not only is it annoying, it’s definitely environmentally-unfriendly!

There is such a trend of overpackaging (especially for toys!) and it’s so aggravating knowing that while the cardboard can be recycled, there’s still a ton of waste when the toy is finally liberated!

But I’m happy to let you know that Amazon just launched its “Frustration-Free Packaging” initiative that includes Fisher-Price and Mattel toys. The products are exactly the same, but the packaging has been streamlined to use less materials.

This program will be growing and expanding over years to come, and you can see examples of the products that are included at Amazon. But one example of what this really means is the Fisher-Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship. It will now be delivered in an easy-to-open, recyclable cardboard box. This eliminates:

36 inches of plastic-coated wire ties
1,576.5 square inches of printed corrugated package inserts
36.1 square inches of printed folding carton materials
175.25 square inches of PVC blister packaging
3.5 square inches of ABS molded styrene and two molded plastic fasteners

Want to know what this also eliminates? Swearing, headaches and major environmental guilt!

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