Snack Chat

Frito-Lay and Ecoist Turn Chip Bags into Chic Accessories

You may have read online recently that Ecoist and Frito-Lay teamed-up to launch a new line of chic accessories made from upcycled Frito-Lay chip bags. In honor of Earth Day today -- and of all of the great work we're doing at Frito-Lay and PepsiCo to support environmental sustainability -- I wanted to share with you a peek inside Ecoist to see why its co-founders, brothers Jonathan and Yari Marcoshamer (pictured below), started the company and learn about their mission to "do good" with their business.

 
A few years ago, Jonathan and Yair traveled to Mexico with their mother. During the trip, they were inspired by the local artisans they saw hand-weaving bags and accessories, using waste as their raw materials. When they returned to Miami, the brothers decided to launch Ecoist, a company that upcycles post-consumer waste to create stylish, high-quality and limited-collection handbags and other fun accessories.  

Since launching Ecoist, Jonathan and Yair have partnered with big-name companies to upcycle waste into high-quality, hand-crafted items. The Ecoist handbags have been especially popular, even with celebrity personalities, like Tipper Gore and Paris Hilton. Since both Jonathan and Yair live eco-mided lifestyles, the ability to blend their personal passion for sustainability into a unique, high-profile business makes them quite proud.(Picture at right: Peruvian artisan hand-weaving a handbag from a Wavy Lay's chip bag.)

Jonathan and Yair are also quite proud of their commitment to fair trade -- ensuring fair wages, healthy working environments and respect for the local cultural identity -- in Peru, where Ecoist merchandise is made. Their mission is three-fold, with an emphasis on social responsibility: Helping the planet, making a profit and supporting social justice.

Ecoist's Frito-Lay collection launched a few weeks ago and is already off to a great start. We're proud of our partnership with Ecoist thanks to the step it's helping us take to reduce waste and because of the company's commitment to social responsibility -- something we're commited to at Frito-Lay/PepsiCo as well.

You can check-out the Ecoist handbags and accessories (very cool chip bowls!) on their Web site. Shop today, and you'll get 25 percent off your order in honor of Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day!

- Kristin Holmes

A Farmer's Market to Celebrate Earth Week at Frito-Lay

We continued our Earth Week celebration at Frito-Lay headquarters today by hosting a Farmer's Market in our outdoor atrium during lunch. Employees who visited the market received a free reusable shopping bag and had the opportunity to shop local, with area vendors offering fresh organic produce, meats and herbs, homemade breads and native Texas plants, as well as locally-produced honey, soaps, pecans and dog biscuits. A few of the vendors included Lucky Layla Farms, Biscuit Head Baking Co., Abundantly Aromatic and Squeezepenney Sustainable Farm. 

- Kristin Holmes

Below are a few pictures from the Farmer's Market event.

 

 

Guest Blogger Amanda Grzeda: Composting 101 at Frito-Lay

Hi, I’m Amanda Grzeda (picture at left is of my husband, Dan, and me), a project engineer with the Frito-Lay Research and Development team and member of CONN3CT, a diversity group for young professionals at PepsiCo. The Snack Chat team invited me to guest blog this week and share some exciting details about the Composting 101 seminars CONN3CT and the SunChips team are sponsoring during Earth Month at Frito-Lay headquarters to educate our employees about SunChips’ new 100 percent compostable package and how to compost it at home. 

When I first approached CONN3CT and offered to co-lead Earth Month activities with the SunChips team, I was surprised and excited by the number of events planned. Between the Eco-Fair and Farmers Market, market sampling events at local Kroger stores and visits to Texas collegiate Eco-Fairs, I realized that composting education was our biggest opportunity to make a real difference. So, during the Composting 101 seminars, we spend time teaching people how to compost and encouraging them to make a change for a healthier planet -- much like the SunChips brand is doing with the launch of its new packaging.  

We’re offering four composting seminars during April, and we hosted the first one last week -- more than 25 people attended! The two women teaching the seminars are both certified master composters: Erin Hoffer, from the City of Plano, who is responsible for educating citizens of North Texas about composting in their own backyards; and Ashley Leidolf, an engineer in the Frito-Lay Research and Development Packaging group, who helps explain the “nuts and bolts” of the new SunChips 100 percent compostable packaging. During the hour-long session, Erin and Ashley teach employees how to set-up a backyard composter, discuss the key ingredients for a successful composting experience and explain how to incorporate the new SunChips bags into compost bins.    

To be honest, before attending the first Composting 101 seminar, I was pretty ignorant and a little overwhelmed when it came to composting. I’d heard that it takes a lot of work, and if you don’t do it right, it can smell and attract critters. But, the first thing I learned from Erin during the class is that even if you don’t realize it yet, you’re already composting! 

Composting is just nature’s way of breaking down organic matter until it becomes part of the soil. So, if you’ve raked leaves into a pile in the fall or left your clippings on your lawn after mowing, you’re already composting! What a great message to kick-off the sessions. 

We also spend some time during the seminars talking about the new SunChips package –- that it’s made-up of over 90 percent plant-based renewable material and will degrade in a hot, active compost bin in about the same amount of time as an orange peel (about 14 weeks). We even talk about how the new SunChips package is louder than the previous version, because the plant-based materials make it stiffer than petroleum-based bags. 

 My husband and I bought our first home together a year ago. We have a nice yard and have learned quickly that buying compost and fertilizer is expensive! Now that I’m armed with confidence and my Composting 101 knowledge, it’s time to start a compost pile at my house… where I’ll be sure to include the 100 percent compostable SunChips bag! Like Erin said, everybody is a composter, and in a few months, I expect great results from my own compost bin! Thank you, CONN3CT and SunChips, for sharing this information with employees. 

- Amanda

Earth Week Kick-off at Frito-Lay

Today at Frito-Lay headquarters in Plano, Texas, employees gathered in the cafeteria to kick-off this year's week of events celebrating Earth Week 2010. First, Dave Haft, Vice President of Sustainability, Quality and Productivity, provided an overview of the progress we've made at Frito-Lay to reduce the electricity and water used to make our snacks, packaging waste and fleet emissions, over the last 10 years.  

Next, Michael Waas Smith from TerraCycle updated employees on the accomplishments we've made by "upcycling" used chip bags into usable products thanks to our partnership with TerraCycle. To-date, through the Frito-Lay chip bag upcycling program, we've upcycled more than 2 million chips bags -- the highest number and most successful collection of any of TerraCycle's partner programs!

Lastly, members of the SunChips brand team shared information on composting and highlighted the ad campaign designed to support its 100% compostable chip bag, which launched last month. 

Today, we're sharing with you a podcast interview I recently recorded with Jen Saenz, Brand Manager on the SunChips brand, and Ashley Leidolf from our Research & Development packaging team. These two women were happy to share details about the new compostable packaging -- why we developed it, how we developed it and what it means for our company and for the environment.

Check back on Snack Chat everyday this week to learn more about how we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!

Happy Earth Week! 

- Kristin Holmes

Frito-Lay's Georgia Plant Honored by Governor

In my 30 years working at Frito-Lay, I visited many of our manufacturing plants across the country and was impressed with the common culture I saw -- pride in product quality, the high-caliber workforce and a commitment supporting local communities. 

So, I was pleased to learn yesterday our Perry, Ga., manufacturing plant (pictured left) was honored as the Georgia Manufacturer of the Year - Large Format by Sonny Perdue, the Governor of Georgia. 

To understand why our Perry plant was selected, I called Craig Hoffman, the Technical Manager at the plant.  He told me to compete with other manufacturers for the title, they were evaluated on three criteria: Economic impact, corporate responsibility and workforce excellence. Then, he shared some details about each of the criteria.

Economic Impact:  Over its 22 years in operation, the Perry plant has consistently grown the number of local people it employs. The plant also partnered with Georgia Quick Start, a state resource that provides companies with training resources to encourage job growth. In one project, the Frito-Lay engineering team worked with the plant to develop training programs for new equipment, processing systems and safety.

Corporate Responsibility: The employees at the Perry plant are actively involved in the local community and are involved in activities such as sponsoring career days and purchasing band equipment for the local high school, educating the community about protecting the environment, and raising money for the United Way, a local hospital, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and the Kids You Love program.

Workforce Excellence: To support its own people, the plant offers comprehensive employee education programs, a solid rewards and recognition program and is a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion. Perry employees participate in the various PepsiCo employee networks, including Mosaic (supports African Americans), Adelante (supports Latinos and Hispanics) and the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN; supports women). 

Craig told me that Perry plant employees are filled with pride to receive such a prestigious award from the state of Georgia, and they’re planning a big celebration at the plant.  Clearly, they deserve it!

Congratulations to our Perry plant!