Condom wrappers don’t have to look cool, they just shouldn’t rip.

That’s the lesson the government of the District of Columbia has learned after thousands upon thousands of condoms it provided free to city residents to curb HIV-AIDS have been returned because of widespread complaints that their paper packaging is easily torn and might render the condoms useless.

“I got one of those free condoms wrapped in yellow paper,” a commenter on a DC health-related discussion Web site recently said. “And the damn thing ripped in my purse. Ain’t no way I’m putting that thing on my man now.”

And the complaints go on! 

Beyond ripping in purses, volunteers with the D.C. health department have heard several stories about the condom packets busting open in pockets. Other health officials have heard that the packaging, created by a company in China, seems “shoddy,” and many young people have asked why the aren’t packaged in plastic or foil, like most other condoms.

“People were saying, ‘These packets aren’t any good,’ ” Franck DeRose, executive director of an educational organization called the Condom Project, told the Washington Post recently. “A coalition that includes the Condom Project sent back 100,000 condoms to the city, about 15 percent of what the city says has been passed out to groups.”

The D.C. health department has released a statement saying it will hold a “contest for new versions” for when it buys condoms next.