TORONTO -- Frito-Lay Canada has launched an awareness campaign to address the recent buzz over the noisiness of its SunChips compostable bag [see story]. Its message: "Our bag is loud, our bag is different, our bag is good for the environment, and our bag will remain on store shelves."
"Despite what you may have heard, SunChips is and always was keeping the bag here in Canada," he said Tony Matta, Frito-Lay Canada vice-president of marketing. "We believe that trading off a little noise in order to help shrink our footprint on the planet is worth it."
The manufacturer of the multigrain chips wants Canadians to decide for themselves how they feel about the new compostable bag, and is challenging them to test its noise level and weigh it against its environmental benefits.
A new Facebook page has been set up to take consumer comments and feedback. If at the end of the test the consumer still feels the bag is too loud, SunChips brand will send them a free pair of earplugs.
The compostable bag gets its characteristic noisiness from plant-based polylactic acid (PLA), a material that is more than 90% renewable and allows it to be compostable.
In the meantime, Frito-Lay Canada sustainability leader Helmi Ansari said the company has a quieter second-generation SunChips bag in the works.
