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SunChips Introduces Quieter Compostable Bags

The Bags Are Back



The SunChips compostable bag is back, this time without a bang.

When SunChips introduced their eco-friendly bags that biodegrade in only 14 weeks, they were surprised to be met with resistance when consumers complained that the bags were too noisy. As a result, PepsiCo pulled the compostable bags from five of the six SunChip flavors less than a year after they were introduced to the market.

SunChips announced this week that they're bringing the bags back, and this time the product will make both environmentalists and those unquieted by the bag's distinctive crinkle happy.

The new bags are still compostable, but PepsiCo is using a different adhesive that takes the noise of opening the bag down 15 decibels to the noise of a standard chip bag. This equates to reducing the noise of a busy street down to that of an average radio.

How Will Consumers Respond?



SunChips aroused anger amongst environmentalists in 2010 for pulling its eco-friendly bags because of noise complaints. Perhaps, though, it is the consumers that should take the heat.

When SunChips first started receiving complaints about their product, they responded, "The trade-off is pretty clear. A little more noise, for a little less waste, and a little more green." They even offered earplugs for customers. Even so, sales of SunChips dropped during the compostable bag's runtime.

If the market approves, PepsiCo will expand distribution of the new bags to all flavors of SunChips instead of just Original flavor.

Hopefully chip-eaters will hear the call of environmental reform in industry over the sound of sensational Tweeting.

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