1993, April 1

CD's Big Cardboard Box Is History
By Jon Pareles
Published April 1, 1993 in the New York Times

Say goodbye to the long box, the 6-by-12-inch cardboard box that holds a compact disk. As of today it officially becomes an artifact of a bygone decade. After years of wrangling, environmental sentiments have prevailed in the recording business. The hollow, throwaway long box had become a symbol of conspicuous waste, and it had to go.

Read the rest: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/01/arts/cd-s-big-cardboard-box-is-history.html