In the Panozzo household, each person gets three gifts, and only three gifts. The limitation was placed on each of the six family members seven years ago to help deal with their increasingly anxious holiday season. “Money was at an all-time low, particularly for us kids,” explained Angela Panozzo, the youngest of three children. “As a family we would end up struggling and stressing... 

We bathe with it, clean with it, play with it and eat off it. Plastic. It’s a petroleum engineer’s dream and a product manufacturer’s best friend. It allows for lighter, tougher and better packaging and provides cheaper options for gifts and merchandise. Yet, the very substance that revolutionized consumer goods may actually be harming us. Plastic is raising concerns among researchers...