EDITORIAL: Sometimes, 'green' can be noisy

Apparently, Americans are only willing to save the environment if it doesn't involve annoying noises.

In 2009, Frito-Lay introduced compostable packaging for SunChips, an invention that seemed entirely positive. The bags, made from plant-based materials, break down in 14 weeks. But they make loud crinkly sounds, and consumers won't suffer the injustice that is crinkling.

Sales of SunChips fell 11 percent over the past year, and dozens of Facebook pages were created on the topic. The most popular, "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChips Bag," now boasts more than 50,000 members. Frito-Lay announced last week that it will stop using the biodegradable packaging for five out of six SunChip flavors.

Consumers could have poured their SunChips into bowls and pretty much eliminated the problem, but it seems we are environmentally friendly only if it doesn't mean enduring the tiniest inconvenience. We won't give up our SUVs, though we will affix "Save Mother Earth" stickers to them, and we won't turn off air conditioners, which keep us delightfully cool while we watch "An Inconvenient Truth" on the 52-inch plasma.

Frito-Lay should have introduced a campaign saying, "That loud crinkling you hear is me saving the planet." On its own, the sound repelled consumers, but cast as a badge signifying "green" credentials, it would have had a better shot. hN