Twist Ties from Hell

If you've bought a toddler toy lately, then you understand the title of this post.  One of the parenting magazines timed how long it took to extract bulldozers and dolls from their packaging and it was over 15 minutes in many cases.   That's where I read the best recommendation- to remove the toy completely from the packaging, install any required batteries, test it, and wrap it so that it is ready to play with instantly.  We did that for all of our gifts to toddler this year and it was great!  You can always save the original box, too, just in case, but why make the poor kid suffer waiting while you mangle the cardboard, slice your fingers open on that tough plastic, and send pieces of cut twist tie flinging all over the room, or worse, painstakingly try to unwind them.

 

It's too bad that toy companies feel compelled to have the toys "on display" or able to be touched & played with within their boxes, because I think that is what necessitates all the twist ties and tape and molded plastic to hold each accessory in the box and make it harder to steal.  If the toy and all of its parts were just inside of a sealed box, maybe with a window, less packaging would be necessary.  But, obviously over the years it has been found that consumers are more attracted to the exposed looking toy and so all the manufacturer's have gone in that direction.  Apparently, there has been a groundswell of consumer complaints, so the Washington Post reports the good news that we may see changes soon.  

Of course, besides the waiting, frustration, and injury that toy packaging causes, there's the environmental impact of overly packaged toys.  Answers to that include getting used toys, seeking out simply packaged toys, and at the very least, recycling.  But, if you don't feel you have a choice for certain products, check out these tools that have now been created to aid you in extracting your consumer good.  

Anyone have tips on companies with minimal or environmentally friendly toy packaging?  And while we're at it, eco friendly toys?