With a simple flick of the wrist and click of a button, I ordered my custom-printed cards from Apple. Not very many, really–only 50 total. A few days later, they arrived in two cardboard boxes. I opened one of the boxes, and inside there was another box. I opened that box, and found yet another box. Finally, after opening the last box, I found a bundle of cards. I felt as though I was playing with a Matryoshka doll. The sad part of it, however, was that all the layers of packaging were going to end up in the recycling bin. Did there have to be so many?

On the right is the pile of printed cards and envelopes; on the left is the pile of packaging material. I’m fearful of calculating the carbon footprint of my greeting cards …