 Canada
- October 29, 2010
Hard as it may seem to believe, a recent debate has sparked across
Canada about the noise levels of Frito Lay Canada’s SunChips compostable bag. Today the company launched an awareness campaign to
address the recent discussions. Their response: ‘Our bag is loud, our
bag is different, our bag is good for the environment, and our bag will
remain on store shelves.
“The
new SunChips compostable bag has caused quite a lot of noise
for being noisy,” says Tony Matta, vice president of marketing, Frito
Lay Canada. “We’ve had a record number of calls and emails to our office
since we launched in February of this year and despite what you may have
heard, SunChips is and always was keeping the bag here in Canada. We
believe that trading off a little noise in order to help shrink our
footprint on the planet is worth it.”
Come on Canada, hear the noise!
Frito Lay Canada wants Canadians to decide for themselves how they feel
about the new SunChips compostable bag and are challenging
people to go out and test the noise levels for themselves. Touch it,
squeeze it and tell them what you really think. Is it really that
unbearable when you consider the environmental benefits? A new Facebook
page (www.facebook.com/sunchipscanada)
has been set up to take consumer comments and feedback. If at the end of
your test you still feel the bag is too loud for you, SunChips
brand will send you a free pair of earplugs. Please visit our
Facebook page for more information.
Canada's Noise Debate: SunChips® brand Challenges Consumers to Hear What the Fuss is About
So why is the bag so noisy?
For those interested in the technical side, the compostable bag gets its
characteristic noisiness from a plant-based material called polylactic
acid (PLA), a material that is more than 90 per cent renewable and
allows it to be compostable. There is a distinctly different sound than
traditional chip bags because the plant-based materials are not as soft
at room temperature. They will, however, completely break down in a hot,
active compost pile in approximately 14 weeks.
“We are continually looking for ways to improve the bag in order to
reduce noise while at the same time keeping the environmental benefits,
and we expect to have news to share on that soon. In the short term we
feel the current bag offers a big reduction in waste for a little amount
of noise," says Helmi Ansari, sustainability leader, Frito Lay Canada.
“We always welcome the feedback of Canadians, but also want to encourage
them to accept the greater purpose of the bag, noise and all.”
The SunChips 100% compostable chip bag will continue to
appear on shelves in Canada in the 225g and 425g size bags. For more
information, please visit
www.facebook.com/sunchipscanada or
www.sunchips.ca.
 .png) More on Frito Lay on PotatoPro
Quotes
“The new SunChips compostable bag has caused quite a lot of noise
for being noisy. We’ve had a record number of calls and emails to our
office since we launched in February of this year and despite what you
may have heard, SunChips is and always was keeping the bag here in
Canada. We believe that trading off a little noise in order to help
shrink our footprint on the planet is worth it.”Tony Matta, vice president of marketing, Frito Lay
Canada
“We are continually looking for ways to improve the bag in order to
reduce noise while at the same time keeping the environmental benefits,
and we expect to have news to share on that soon. In the short term we
feel the current bag offers a big reduction in waste for a little amount
of noise. We always welcome the feedback of Canadians, but also want to
encourage them to accept the greater purpose of the bag, noise and all.”Helmi Ansari, sustainability leader, Frito Lay
Canada
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