Compostable SunChips bags part of green packaging trend

NEW YORK -- Have a snack. Then feed the earth. That's what chip munchers will be able to do when Frito-Lay introduces what it says will be "the world's first compostable chip bag" by Earth Day 2010.

The snack maker is rolling out a media campaign this month touting that it has taken the first step toward creating an environmentally friendly pouch for SunChips, a multigrain product that is already associated with healthier snacking.

"We're seeing a much greater concern about the planet by consumers," says Gannon Jones, vice president of portfolio marketing for Frito-Lay North America, a business unit of PepsiCo PEP.

And, Jones says, "When it comes to the environment … far and away consumers would say if there's one thing that you could improve, it would be your packaging."

Supermarket shelves are currently being filled with new 10.5-ounce SunChips bags with an outer layer made of plant-based polylactic acid (PLA). Researchers now are focusing on making the inside of the pouches, including the critical layer that keeps the chips crisp and fresh, eco-friendly as well.

In a nation where "organic" and "fair trade" have become part of the lexicon, packaging experts and environmental advocates say companies such as Frito-Lay have realized the importance of showing they are helping to preserve the environment, whether it's reducing the fuel used to make and transport their products or altering the type of packaging that coffee, cold cuts or conditioner comes in.

A January report by The Hartman Group, a market researcher, found that packaging was key for consumers who are concerned about the environment.

"It was almost like a marker or indicator as to how good or bad a company may be," says Laurie Demeritt, the agency's president. "And in most cases, when they thought about packaging (they asked), 'What can happen to it after I get it home? Is it recyclable? Is it biodegradable?' "

Of the 1,600 people surveyed for the report, 75% said it was at least somewhat important that packaging be recyclable, while 51% felt it was at least somewhat important that it be compostable, meaning it breaks down with the presence of oxygen and water.

While brands have used recycled paper for years to contain cereal, pasta and other products, companies are increasingly taking additional steps to help the environment, such as reducing the weight or amount of packaging.

Kraft, which has a goal to cut packaging by 150 million pounds by 2011, shrank the amount of plastic used in each Kraft salad dressing bottle by 19% last year, a change that will save more than 3 million pounds annually, says Roger Zellner, Kraft's director of sustainability for research, development and quality. Their Oscar Mayer Deli Creations cut cardboard use 30% per package this year.

By fall, plastic half-liter Aquafina bottles will be 20% lighter, says Bart Casabona, spokesman for PepsiCo North America Beverages.

"When you look at the bottle we began with in 2002, to the current bottle, we're able to eliminate 75 million pounds of plastic annually," Casabona says. Seven years ago the bottle weighed 24 grams, and it has steadily dropped to its new weight of 10.9 grams. "Even in economically challenged times, we're making a concerted effort to lessen our impact and footprints on the environment."

Frito-Lay is telling consumers that it is using renewable materials with a print and online ad campaign that includes a Web video showing a SunChips bag crumbling in the earth over 14 weeks, and an insert of a fully compostable package in this week's People magazine, complete with directions to toss the sample into an active compost bin.

Company officials say it's been a real challenge to create a chips bag that maintains product quality but disintegrates in the ground.

"It's walking a technological tightrope because we're balancing the need to have it break down with the need to have good shelf sustainability," says Tony Knoerzer, Frito-Lay North America's vice president, packaging and sustainability. "We need a significant amount of moisture protection for our products because if they don't stay dry, they're not crisp."

The company and its partners on the bag are seeking patents for their processes as well as for the final package.

There are strict standards to be met to call a package compostable, and Knoerzer says Frito-Lay will adhere to them. "Under the proper conditions, this bag will essentially return to the earth," he says. "We're very confident on Earth Day 2010 we'll be ready."