SunChips Shelves Noisy, Eco-Friendly Packaging

PLANO, TexasAfter launching its biodegradable SunChips® bags with grand fanfare 18 months ago, Frito-Lay has shelved the idea and will return to the old packaging for five of its six SunChips products, USA Today reported. The move apparently was in response to consumers complaints that the eco-friendly bags were too noisy.

Clearly, we'd received consumer feedback that it was noisy," said Aurora Gonzalez, a Frito-Lay spokeswoman. "We recognized from the beginning that the bag felt, looked and sounded different. We are on a journey with compostable packaging. Frito-Lay is showing its commitment by sticking with the noisy but compostable packaging for the sixth flavor, its top-selling Original. We are applying what we have learned from this first generation to get to the next generation of environmentally friendly packaging."

The SunChips website describes the 100-percent compostable packaging in this manner:

We dream of a world with less waste. That's why we're using fully compostable packaging on specially-marked bags of Original flavor SunChips® snacks. Every specially-marked bag of SunChips® Original flavor snacks is designed to break down in about 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost bin or pile. If it takes a little longer, dont worry about it; Mother Nature will get to it soon enough.

Truth be told, our compostable bag sounds a bit different than our other bags, That's because the plant-based materials used to make our compostable bag have different sound qualities than the materials used to make our other bags. Although our compostable bag is a bit louder, we hope you'll appreciate its environmental benefits."