A little girl receives a present. She unwraps it from its wrapping paper. With the help of a pair of scissors, she opens up the outer layer of plastic packaging and pries the inner package out. The she attacks the next layer of packaging. And the next. And the next. And the next... Altogether it must have taken this little girl about ten minutes, just to get through all the plastic and gain access to the toys inside. The video is one of the winners of a one-minute environmental film contest that was held by Friends of the Earth, and it makes its point concisely— especially since I’m sure that we have all had a similar experience with over-packaging! Why do they do it? Is it really necessary to wrap a non-perishable, non-food item in several layers of plastic? What are they protecting it from? The worst part is, plastic is one of the most persistent waste materials that humans produce— it takes forever to biodegrade. Let’s make over-packaging a main factor in what we choose not to buy.