buying new gadgets is a joyful occasion, but opening them can be another story when an impenetrable piece of plastic stands in your way. amazon announced monday its frustrationfree packaging initiative, which will address the issue, dubbed "wrap rage."under the initiative, amazon will be shipping some products to consumers in easytoopen, recyclable boxes, ditching those pesky packages tightly enclosed in a plastic clamshell or fastened with plasticcoated wires. microsoft, fisherprice, mattel andtranscend are the first companies to join the initiative amazon hopes many more manufacturers will participate in the effort as well."it&rsquos a universal sentiment shared especially by parents," said pattysmith, director of corporate communications at amazon. "it makeschristmas mornings a bit more stressful when you&rsquove got a little kid breathing down your neck when you&rsquore trying to get something out of a package."plastic packaging has been a consumer headache for years, and in worst cases it&rsquos landed people in the hospital. in 2004, about 6,500 americans were rushed to emergency rooms when they sustained injuries from trying to free their gadgets from stubborn plastic enclosures. as cumbersome as plastic clamshells may be, stores say the packaging method helps deter thieves. however, amazon noted that online shopping has no need for such a security measure.in addition to improving shopping experience, the initiative is aiming to benefit the environment. streamlined packaging equates to fewer nonrecyclable materials used, smaller boxes, less space taken up in a delivery truck and less gas consumed. best of all, that means shorter waiting time between ordering and receiving items, smith said.daniel kessler, a member of the environmental organization greenpeace, said he views the initiative as a positive effort to reduce waste and conserve energy. however, he said he&rsquod like amazon to be more aggressive with manufacturers and draw out firm guidelines as to which packaging materials they can use for products sold on the site. specifically, greenpeace is concerned with the use of polyvinyl chloride pvc in plastic packaging &mdash a chemical that produces a dangerous carcinogen called dioxin during manufacturing, kessler said."they do have enough power in the industry to lay down ultimatums," kessler said. "when i think of online shopping i think of amazon, and i think they have the cachet to tell vendors to clean up their act."purchasing an item shipped with frustrationfree packaging comes at no additional cost for consumers. amazon is hoping that the packaging reduction will eventually result in lowered product prices.press release amazonsee alsowhy things suck plastic packagingphoto penmachineflickr 
