Green Bean Studios Invited to North West Eco-Innovation Awards 2023

​Green Bean Studios will be attending the North West Eco-Innovation Awards 2023 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. The awards are hosted by the universities of Lancaster, Central Lancashire, Cumbria, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Manchester Metropolitan.

The Eco-I NW project team has invited their collaborative business partners, academics, researchers and students to join them at this event, celebrating some incredible success stories from the last three years.

As well as showcasing these business and research successes, the awards will provide a unique opportunity for networking between business and academia. Guests will be treated to a drinks reception, followed by a three-course dinner. Afterwards, the awards will be presented, along with English entrepreneur and designer Wayne Hemmingway MBE speaking to the attendees. The night will be rounded off with a live band and bar to carry on the celebrations.

Green Bean Studios recently partnered with Lancaster University’s Centre for Global Eco-Innovation Lancaster Environment Centre. As a sustainable children’s entertainment IP brand, using eco-friendly materials and production methods is a key focus. This year the business is accelerating their creative innovation to support their mission of reducing carbon emissions to protect the environment.

Green Bean, Mr Bear and the friends were packed, wrapped and shipped out for a fun adventure to meet PHD students from Lancaster Environment Centre who undertook six weeks of research to test the strength and durability of sustainable materials from Green Bean Studios’ retail lines to demonstrate the viability of mass producing high quality eco toys without using plastic.

Leading the research was Dr Mark Ashton, a PhD graduate from Lancaster University. Since finishing his PhD in 2020, Mark has been working for the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation as a technical innovation fellow. He works on a variety of low carbon projects as part of that role. Mark’s PhD focused on developing biodegradable materials for use in long term drug delivery. 

Green Bean Studios’ ECO retail lines from the Green Bean Collection were the main focus for this piece of research. The partnership was led forwards with Dr Mark Ashton and our Founder Anita Frost, as we continue to develop towards bringing children and families sustainable children's toys to enjoy precious moments through play, learning and fun adventures. The three main goals of our working partnership was: assessing the ECO toy’s durability; assessing the toy’s biodegradability; and exploring the long term toxicity of the components used in our ECO toy lines. ​

The aim of the research is to support Green Bean Studios’ ongoing commitment to sustainability as they work towards becoming a B-Corp business, with their products making a positive impact on the environment and reducing Co2.

On working on the project, Dr Mark Ashton said:

“By ensuring the toys are durable, biodegradable, and safe, we can ensure that they are long lasting and can be used in a circular economy. This means that they would break down readily over time with no need for harmful chemicals and could be recycled at the end of their lifetime into other usage streams. Longer lasting toys result in less waste, whilst ensuring the toys degrade naturally will allow for disposal with no damage to the environment. It has been a real pleasure to work on this project with such a good cause.”

The results of this project are just one of the many exciting advances for Green Bean Studios’ as they continue to lead the way in creating affordable, sustainable children’s entertainment that will help protect the planet for future generations.

Find out more:
https://www.greenbeancollection.co.uk/ ​