we&rsquove all struggled with blister pack, endless twist ties, and countless jabs from scissors as we try to wrestle open our or our kids&rsquo presents during the holidays.this feeling has an official name &ldquowrap rage.&rdquo it&rsquos the term used for the heightened level of anger and frustration that one gets when trying to open hard to remove packaging, particularly plastic blister packs and clamshells.the consumer product safety commission reports an average of 6,000 people a year suffering &ldquopackaging related injuries.&rdquo this includes the many lacerations and puncture injuries that happen on christmas day.in 2007 consumer reports magazine presented an &ldquooyster&rdquo award to the products with the hardest to open packaging. consumers reported cut and bloodied arms, hands, and fingers from using items such as pliers, bolt cutters, military issue can openers, and hacksaws to open packages. in 2008, amazon, began a frustrationfree packaging initiative. last year walmart joined amazon in its efforts to encourage manufacturers to produce userfriendly packaging created with recycled or sustainable materials.so what are we to do when we are bleeding all over the mistletoe or hanukkah gelt get organized and find easier to open packaging that will decrease stress, high blood pressure and temper tantrums. here are four suggestionslook for new packaging. this includes user friendly clamshell packages with special types of plastic that protect the product, but use paperboard for the rest to eliminate the plastic shards that cause injuries.buy environmentally friendly packaged products. help the environment by buying products that utilize simpler packaging that eliminates plastic coated wire ties and the corrugated package inserts.get the right tools. look for products that open these packages by googling &ldquoclam shell package openers.&rdquo there are various blades for cutting clamshells, tools for snipping twist ties, and blades for slicing open cd&rsquos and dvd&rsquos.give the kid a sweater. no difficult packaging there.
