It’s not just the looming, package-filled holidays that prompt this rant, but it looks like we’re in for another year of over-packaged consumer goods spreading fear and frustration along with the seasonal goodwill.

That’s too bad, because this is an opportunity with quality improvement and customer satisfaction written all over it. Why haven’t manufacturers and retailers leapt at this chance to delight and amaze us with customer-friendly packaging?

It’s been a good decade since the term “wrap rage” made its first appearance, but aside from providing material for comedians and columnists, there’s been little perceived value on the part of consumers for those aggravating obstructions known as blister packs, clamshells, and thermoform. To break into the packages safeguarding the products we buy, we’re “still chewing through plastic like wild dogs,” as one London Times reporter noted.

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