Photos: Green packaging eliminates 'wrap rage'

Consumer Reports launched the 'Oyster Awards' two years ago to highlight hard-to-open packaging.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs are more energy-efficient than incandescents, and therefore billed as eco-friendly. However, the seemingly impenetrable plastic packaging for these CFL bulbs 'won' the magazine's honorable mention in 2007.

For the past few decades, retailers have used clamshells to show off expensive consumer electronics inside a clear bubble that deters thieves. The rigid packaging protects goods that may spend months or years being shipped across oceans and sitting on store shelves.

Consumer Reports won't hold 'Oyster Awards' for 2008, although it will address sustainable packaging soon.

Credit: Consumer Reports