Here's the worst packaging crime I've witnessed lately.

Not long ago, a friend ordered a gift for me online and had it shipped directly to me. I came home one day and found a very large cardboard box that the UPS guy had left on my doorstep. Naturally, I tore into it like it was Christmas morning.

I didn't get very far. Inside the giant cardboard box, I hit a mass of Styrofoam peanuts [0]. After digging around the peanuts (and I really had to dig) I eventually pulled out a large tube. But I still couldn't figure out what it was, because it encased was in a dark plastic sleeve. Underneath the sleeve, it had been shrink-wrapped in even more plastic.

And guess what it turned out to be? Wait for it....

It was a yoga [0] mat. It arrived in pristine condition. But then, yoga mats are basically indestructible and it probably would have been okay if the pilot had just thrown it off the plane.

It was a perfect gift, but the wasteful packaging made a lasting impression. In fact, it made me hyper-sensitive to the many packaging abuses that I'm guilty [0] of every day.

I pull the plastic wrappers off my straws before I drink iced-tea. I toss out boxes, molded protective plastic inserts, and instructions (with freakish-sounding ingredients) each time I bring home anything from the cosmetics aisle at the drugstore. And peel off layers -- the lid, the foil -- to eat a yogurt.

I appreciate that it's the packaging that keeps this stuff hygenic and undented. I also try to recycle the cardboard, plastic, whatever else that I can. [0] But still, it seems like a lot of waste.

The good news is that corporations are finally (finally!) re-thinking how they package their products [1] to save money and the planet. Coca-cola makes smaller, lighter bottles. McDonalds wraps Big Macs in recycled paper. Procter & Gamble is re-fashioning toothpaste tubes to do away with the cardboard box. Plus, they've figured out that revamped, eco-friendly alternatives are a good marketing tactic.

Scaling back on packaging probably seems like a no-brainer for most of us, but I'm glad that corporations are now thinking outside the box. Maybe they'll do away with the box altogether.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the day when enough eco-friendly changes occur so finding a gift one our doorstep gives us a little Christmas morning thrill -- without the guilt.