Maybe I Should Move to Canada

Go, you eco-friendly Canadians, you!

Sun Chips, Canada is keeping their eco-friendly bag. And if people have a problem with it, write them and they'll send you a free pair of earplugs. Epic!

Canada Stays Loyal to Noisy SunChips Bags

I wonder how much it would cost to get them imported?

Sun Chips Bag Update

 

Sun Chips' non-compostable bag and MY favorite flavor - IN FRENCH!

Ok, I figured I'd just make a new post about this since people barely read my blog as it is, I'm guessing that no one is going to go back to read posts if they've already read them.

First off, you might be wondering, "Lyndsie, why do you care so much about a stupid chip bag? I know you don't even eat chips that often..." Well, I am excited because this is evidence of a big corporation getting on board with the eco-friendly stuffs. Even if it's only a drop in the bucket as far as big companies go, every drop still counts! This is the same reason why I care that Big Red made a Big Deal about their paper wrappers.

For the original post, go here.


So, I discovered this weekend that it seemed like Sun Chips had run away like a scared little girl from all the "bag's-too-loud whiners". Now the only bag that's compostable (according to their Garden Salsa and Harvest Cheddar bags) is the Original "blue" flavor. Which is still good but way inferior to the other two. However, according to Sun Chips' website they are actually working on a new, quieter compostable bag. In their words, they're "putting the finishing" touches on this product which makes me think that it's going to come out soonish. I really hope that's the case. And hey, quieter would be good but I'd be happy with the old crackley bag.
Interesting side note, Sun Chips' website also has links for following them in their journey for the best bag, how-tos for composting and their "mission statement" for their compostable bag. So that's pretty cool.

Frito-Lay makes a variety of tasty products. (I don't believe in their "Natural" Ruffles tho b/c most potato chips only have 3 ingredients anyway - potatoes, oil, salt).

Now time for a tiny rant. Sun Chips is owned by Frito-Lay so why didn't Frito-Lay make all their bags compostable? I can see that maybe they were just testing it out w/ Sun Chips, but I have never heard anything about F-L considering going 100% compostable. So this whole composting thing that is making people (me) so excited is, in some ways, just a bs marketing scheme or "green washing" as they say. *sigh* At least is aa start...I guess. Let's hope that the quite compostable bag is a success and then the company decides to switch all of its brands, sizes and products to this same bag. Is that too optimistic? I'm tryin' really hard!

Sunchips bag - Loud AND PROUD

Oh Sun Chips...How I love your multigrain taste and your Harvest Cheddar flavor is like the crack of the chip world. I really don't care if your ingredients are healthier for me or not (54 grams of fat anyone?) but I like to think that the whole grains are really givin' my body the love because they sure are giving my tastebuds some lovin'.

Now, Imagine my surprise when I learn that my beloved Sun Chips have made a compostable bag! WOOHOO world! Now I can buy the most ultimatelytastey chips in the whole world and not feel bad about throwing away the bag. So I do just that and first off I think "HOLY MOLY this bag is loud!" I had to go into the kitchen at work and pour the chips on a plate so I could eat them. 

However, I didn't really give this event much thought. I mean...so what? It's a loud bag, but it will biodegrade fast and turn into dirt. I can't complain about that. Though it seems that my fellow Americans took this loudness a bit too seriously. According to the Facebook page: I'm sorry but I can't hear you over this Sun Chips bag Frito-Lay, maker of Sun Chips, is considering switching back to the normal bag because of secret snackers. (Article at bottom).

Here are a few comments from the site.

Negative:

• "My hubby said not to buy them anymore because of that bag...."
• "I'll be honest-I love the fact they were trying to go green...but that thing is SO annoying!"

Positive:

• "Dump them into a tuperware container and get over it."
• "oh yes because a little noise is way less important then the filling of our landfills. If they switch back, I wont eat them again."
•  "Score: tender ears of the consumer: 1 the Environment: 0"  (sarcasm= positive?)

Smart Facebooker?

"....I suspect that, if these bags break down in a few months, that really limits their shelf lives - especially if the chips were packaged more than a few weeks since the bags were manufactured. And what breaks them down? Do they break downs with moisture? Does a humid environment like Nashville in August shorten the life of those bags? Frankly, I think it was a good idea, but probably didn't work very well."

Maybe the smart Facebooker does have a point. I don't presume to understand how plant-based products work fully, but I can see a valid concern here.  And when you combine that with the noise factor, should Frito-Lay drop its loud bag in favor of garbage dump clogging pastic? Um...NO! Hello people! Really? Did anyone say yes to this? If you did I'm ashamed of youz!  However, there is talk of discontinuing this bag. There is also research going on to reduce the noise factor. I like that latter and I hope they continue with being earth-friendly rather than indulging lazy, overly-sensitive, salt-and-fat-loving Americans. 

I am just here to give some of the love back to Sun Chips and to send my encouraging voice out through the blogosphere. YOU GO, SUN CHIPS! Let's hope these negative complaints dissolve as quickly as your awesome bad in a compost heap!

You can read more about the bag's challenges HERE. 

P.S. what do I have to do to become a secret snacker? ROCK!


EDIT: Apparently Sun Chips ran away like a scared little girl from all the "bag's-too-loud whiners". Now the only bag that's compostable (according to their Garden Salsa and Harvest Cheddar bags) is the original "blue" flavor. Which is still good but way inferior to the other two. Way to drop the ball on that one, Jerkfaces...