BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?

Subject: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: topical tom
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 11:25 AM

Am I the only one or do others gnash their teeth and utter expletives while trying to open a particularly well-sheathed package. Some of the worst, I find, are those electronic components and parts encased in hard plastic, seemingly for all eternity. How do you solve these problems, apart from smashing or blowing up the package? What other articles fit into the category and what are your solutions?

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 11:50 AM

I think that is called 'clam shell packaging'. It is useful because you can see the contents, but you can't disturb the what's inside...an inconvenience when you get the product home.

The way I handle this problem is to cut around three sides of the package with culinary shears (or hedge cutters), open it and remove the contents. This is better than smashing or blowing it up, because if you need to return the product you have the original package (to say nothing of having an intact gizmo)...usually a requisite for return.

GTBOS
JohnOTSC

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: ClaireBear
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 11:52 AM

CDs! I'm forever shredding my nails trying to get the blasted security tape off the top.

Also, the hard packaging you mention is also used on children's toys and toothbrushes -- two items whose wrapping I find particularly frustrating to penetrate.

This is one reason I do most of my shopping at charity shops/thrift stores, which tends to make my CD collection quite eclectic and stocks my son's toy chest with truly fascinating oddments (though I do draw the line well short of buying my toothbrushes second-hand).

C

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Maryrrf
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 11:57 AM

I'm with you 100% there. I find a lot of packaging a complete PITA. Sometimes even with scissors it's hard to open them.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: jacqui.c
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 12:02 PM

I just tried to open the packaging on an ink cartridge for the printer. Had to hand it over to Kendall to do - my fingers just don't have the strength. Then the cartridge is stuck to the inside of the package and I had to use scissors to get through the foil inner packing.

Talk about a waste of resources!

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 12:33 PM

I love those 6 pack jam tarts that Morrisons Supermarket UK do.... but they recently changed from the cardboard box to a flimsy plasticy wrapper..... you could slide the tray back into the box.. but I defy anyone to try to do the same with the stupid wrapper... so once out they need to be eaten or they go dry...... bring back the cardboard box I say!!!! I don't buy them any more.... I can manage three at a sitting.. but six??? No way.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 12:57 PM

There are a 'few' improvements among the horrendous examples. One brand of cookies Chips Ahoy has a simple pull-strip on top, with resealable tape that allows you to access contents over & over without ripping it apart.

Some of the CF light bulbs have snap-in plastic covers on their pachages which, although tight, allow popping it open, then resealing it.

I don't have time to list all the horror stories.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Emma B
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 01:23 PM

It's not just access but also excess!

According to research the average popular chocolate Easter egg in the UK is 60% packaging

Although some manufacturers reduced their packaging this year, reducing the average weight of eggs by 33 per cent, Swiss chocolatier Lindt had the most excessive packaging, where the chocolate made up only 9 per cent of the volume of the box!

OK as the research stated they "remain one of the most excessively packaged and wasteful products available," however the example is still to be found in many other foodstuffs and other products but......

is this a record?

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 01:39 PM

I find a large pair of scissors and a Swiss Army knife most useful for dealing with modern packaging....and, yes! It's pretty annoying to deal with, isn't it? I think that packaging itself must be a huge growth industry. Much of it is completely unnecessary, as far as I can see.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Cattail
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 02:38 PM

I usually use a craft/stanley knife to cut bubble packaging, starting
by cutting up against the cardboard backing piece around the top of
the thing then across the bubble with a pair of scissors about two
thirds of the way up the packaging, in a lot of cases the packaging
can then be hung on the wall and used as a holder for what it
contained.

Apart from that there is far too much packaging used and no recycling
for a lot of the things, like thin tomato trays and other types of
very thin plastics.

Cheers

Cattail !

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: frogprince
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 02:40 PM

we got a few hours along on a vacation, and discovered that I'd picked up my wife's camera bag, but her camera wasn't in it. Stopped to shop for a simple camera that would suffice, but we wanted something a bit better than a disposable. All the modest priced 35mm cameras were in sealed "clamshell" packaging, so it was impossible to try the feel of what you wanted to buy.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 02:58 PM

Most of the packaging which has come about is designed to thwart shoplifters. It would be interesting to find out if the costs of the new wraps is offset by any savings from theft.

I, for one, do not mind the packaging when it comes to stuff I don't want young children getting into AND also that keeps stuff safe from tampering. Anyone remember the Tylenol tampering which killed several people? I'm even happy my peanut butter comes with a safety film that has to be peeled back.

Got packaging? Got scissors/knife? No problem!

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: topical tom
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 04:54 PM

I have to admit, there is a gizmo sold in Canadian Tire stores in Quebec, which has a very sharp retractable blade and scissors on the other part.I received it recently as a gift and for most tasks it works well. Nevertheless, there still exist stubborn, wasteful packages out there which some of you have noted.I'm glad that I'm not the sole frustrated one!

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 06:21 PM

>>>Most of the packaging which has come about is designed to thwart shoplifters. It would be interesting to find out if the costs of the new wraps is offset by any savings from theft.<<<

Why don't we wrap the shoplifters in plastic, then get on with how things used to be packaged, in paper bags. :0)

If the manufacturer's were fined for producing goods with excess packaging, it would cut back vastly at landfill sites.

I can remember when biscuits were sold loose, from tins that were kept on the floor of a local grocer's store..wonderful biscuits that were weighed out and put in a paper bag, then handed over..

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 06:57 PM

There are really two reasons for "modern packaging" in retail products.

One, as mentioned, is to discourage shoplifting.

The second is because of an advertising theory often called "shelf presence." The package must be large enough to occupy a conspicuously large space on the shelf, and to display "product features" visibly. Some marketers even design the packages so that they can't be "stacked" on the shelf (or in storage at home), and must be spread across a wider area (or length) of the display shelving.

The most conspicuous example of stupid package that I encounter frequently is Hewlett Packard Inkjet cartridges. The 1.2 cubic inch cartridge is in an impenetrable, non-bio-degradable plastic package that occupies 0.8 cubic feet of shelf space (or storage space at home when you get it there). The package is of "super-heavy" plastic that cannot be cut with ordinary scissors/shears, so I generally use "compound leverage aircraft hand shears" ("dutchmans" for those familiar with manufacturing jargon) capable of cutting 1/16 inch (2 mm) thick tempered aluminum. If one has the energy to chop up the package so that it takes less than the cubic foot in the trash bin, wearing good (I use horsehide) metal trade gloves to do the cutting is suggested due to the ragged edges produced even with good shears.

Inside the non-recyclable half-pound (0.3 kg) plastic package, along with the 1.2 cubic inch cartridge (6 grams), is a neatly folded "baggie" that invites you to "Save the Environment" by recycling the empty ink cartridge. (product wt / package wt = 0.02)

(Other inkjet cartridge sellers use similar retail packaging; but mostly of a significantly thinner gage that can be cut with good kitched shears (if chicken-bone capable), and most are about half the size of the HP ones.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Sorcha
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 07:05 PM

Look, they are PROTECTING US! Live with that!!!

(tongue firmly in cheek here)

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 07:50 PM

Echo ClareBear; that strip across the top of cd cases also sets me to cussin'. Some are so 'glued' on that it is difficult to get them off without damaging the information labels.

Those 'clamshells' are often glued to cardboard and it is difficult to separate the two; where plastic and cardboard are supposed to be separated for recycling, the two never separate cleanly.

I keep a plastic bag near my printers, into which I put all the packaging as well as spent cartridges; at the computer store they have a big box for the recycled cartridges, I toss in packaging and all, let them complain.
Canon ink refills have a hard plastic gizmo over the delivery opening, if not removed carefully, ink spurts out.

Let's start a campaign to waterboard package designers!

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 08:23 PM

tiny knife perfect for opening CD wrappings

I recycle what I can & carry my own bags & even sort stuff in the paper & plastics recycling bins in my apartment building, but it would be wonderful not to need to do so much cos manufacturers used minimum packaging!

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Joe_F
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 08:37 PM

In contrast with promotion (whose working morale is entirely based on contempt for the customer), the packaging business really does seem to be divided. Some of it does seem to have the customer's interests in mind, and some of it clearly regards the customer as merely another pest from which the product has to be protected. When I encounter a product that has passed thru the hands of the former subspecies, I take care to vote for it with my money. Among cheap wines I favor Sutter Home on those grounds. It has a tab on the seal that allows me to remove it without using a knife.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Janie
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 08:42 PM

Same complaints here. The clamshell packages in particular give me fits. I have serious joint problems that make my fingers weak and unable to apply much pressure, or to grip tightly to pull stuff apart, so even using shears or a matte knife is difficult.

Landfills are full of excessive packaging materials, many areas can not afford good recycling programs, and a phenomenal amount of natural resources go into packaging or are polluted by the processes to produce the packaging materials.

One reason I shop at the local co-op for food items is that I can buy in bulk and bring my own, reusable container to cut down on the environmental impact of packaging. Of course, that doesn't work with electronic goods.

I don't even try to open a CD unless I have a thin sharp knife at hand to pierce and slit the wrap.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Apr 09 - 10:55 PM

CDs- yes, the plastic wrap yields easily to a small knife- it is that plastic strip underneath the wrap and glued to the top of the case. It has the name of the cd (or dvd) with a bar code that seems to differ from the cash register code. It wraps the top and is stuck to the tops of the labels on the case, it is labeled 'pull at one corner, and is supposed to peel off, but often doesn't.

Or is this a North American hazard?

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Peace
Date: 24 Apr 09 - 02:39 AM

I detest today's packaging in almost all products. Plastic. Every thing today is made out of plastic (thank you Jerry Merrick). My GD tobacco comes wrapped in plastic. Friggin' near took off a finger trying to get into it. A picking finget to boot. GD tomatoes, all cuddled up and looking cute at four to a GD plastic-wrapped box which is often as not more GD plastic. And then there's the boxes of frozen fish which are then wrapped in GD plastic for which one needs a really sharp tool to effect entry. AND, there's the cookies that come in some GD plastic tray that makes one helluva racket fit to wake the neighbours. I have times I feel I'm not MEANT to get to the GD product wrapped in all that GD plastic.

HUMBU LOL. I was hitting the GD plastic keys and I was so GD pissed I couldn't find the GD letter G. LOLOL. Dizzy bugger. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: M.Ted
Date: 24 Apr 09 - 08:16 PM

For some reason, children's toys are particularly prone to over-packaging. In addition to the thermosealed plastic shell, there are often many screws and wires that fasten the toys to some sort of hard inner structure.

In a lot of cases, it is difficult to determine where the toy ends and the packaging begins--and, because the packaging is not infrequently stronger and more durable than the toy itself. great effort has to be expended in removing the packaging without damaging the contents.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 24 Apr 09 - 10:04 PM

Just received a Suzuki Pro-Master harmonica from a large music company, which I thought might be a good present for a grandson who spends much time in the bush, working for the government. He can't carry a large instrument with him. It was in a good hard case, mailed in a cardboard box with a bit of bubble wrap.
No problem in getting it out. The better the object, the more easily attacked is the packing.

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: gnu
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 03:32 PM

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Peace
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 03:37 PM

I thought I'd posted to this thread. I see I didn't.

I detest today's packaging in almost all products. Plastic. Every thing today is made out of plastic (thank you Jerry Merrick). My GD tobacco comes wrapped in plastic. Friggin' near took off a finger trying to get into it. A picking finget to boot. GD tomatoes, all cuddled up and looking cute at four to a GD plastic-wrapped box which is often as not more GD plastic. And then there's the boxes of frozen fish which are then wrapped in GD plastic for which one needs a really sharp tool to effect entry. AND, there's the cookies that come in some GD plastic tray that makes one helluva racket fit to wake the neighbours. I have times I feel I'm not MEANT to get to the GD product wrapped in all that GD plastic.

HUMBU LOL. I was hitting the GD plastic keys and I was so GD pissed I couldn't find the GD letter G. LOLOL. Dizzy bugger. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Modern Packaging...What do you Think?
From: Joe_F
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 08:23 PM

It used to be that a can of coffee (in the US) contained a pound. Then some geniuses in the industry decided that the thing to do, instead of raising the price to keep up with inflation, was to put less in each can. Amazingly, however, a few brands continued to give an honest price for an honest pound. One of them was Maxwell House 1892, which however was recently discontinued. I was disconsolately buying 13-oz cans (or whatever), but just last week, in an unfamiliar supermarket, I saw Brown Gold in 1-lb cans. Three cheers for Brown Gold!

A few years ago I read an article pointing out that eggs are packaged in cartons so flimsy that you have to be careful not to bang the shopping bag against your thigh on the way home, whereas cold chisels are potted in plastic so tough that it takes another cold chisel to get them out.