SunChips Canada has earplugs for loud bag

If you've been following the SunChips compostable-bag saga, you'll know Frito-Lay mostly scotched the environmentally friendly packaging in the U.S. after people said it was too damn loud and crinkly. (One person bizarrely compared the noise to that of a jet airplane.) In Canada, the brand is not caving so quickly. In fact, it's committed to keeping the noisy bag. In the video below, Frito-Lay Canada's sustainability chief explains why—and humorously offers free earplugs on Facebook to anyone whose delicate eardrums can't take the abuse. It's a nice, tongue-in-cheek way to deal with the problem—and something they could have tried in the U.S. Yes, environmental appeals might be an easier sell in Canada, but Americans surely would have respected the company for not backtracking so quickly on a noble idea in the face of a minor consumer annoyance. One thing's for sure. The Canadian wing of the "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChips Bag" group on Facebook is going to be pissed. Via Consumerist.

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Filed under Canada, Environment, Frito-Lay, Nudd, Packaging, SunChips
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SunChips muffles noisy, biodegradable bag

Eighteen months after releasing a new biodegradable bag with much fanfare and a large ad buy, SunChips is mostly going back to the old bag until a less crinkly biodegradable alternative can be found. SunChips sales have dropped by 11 percent in the past 52 weeks—possibly in part due to the new bag, which people have said is just too damn loud, like lawnmower and jet-engine loud. There's even a Facebook group called "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This Sun Chips Bag," which has managed to attract almost 50,000 dissidents. Frito-Lay says it's committed to environmental packaging and will leave the original flavor in the new bag, but all other flavors are headed back to the old packaging. The company says it knew the bag sounded and felt different, but someone must have argued that people would care more about the environmental benefits than about a little noise. So, sorry environment. We were hoping for change that didn't actually require us to change.

Filed under Cullers, Environment, Packaging, SunChips
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