Toy & Play Sustainability Research Hub

Under Construction

Linked In -Toy Hub

Sustainable Futures research Centre

Members

Meetings

Our Purposes

Collaboration

To share practical challenges, solutions and creative ideas.

To establish and increase collaborations within the group and all related organisations

An accessible, coherently presented centre for credible resources, learnings and outcomes of contemporary research for environmental ethics within the toy industry, presenting standards, solutions and innovations.

Translate UN Sustainable Development Goals into meaningful solutions.

Industry Role

To provide a forum for those working to meet environmental sustainability challenges, current and future, linked to toys and play (e.g. toy companies, trade bodies, testing organisations, licensing, waste management, education, publishing and consulting)

Increase and establish collaboration with relevant industries, regulators, communities, and business organisations.

Academic Role

Provide and foster an inclusive, supportive, purposeful, and productive research culture that aligns to the Hub members interests and University specialisms

To use resultant research in teaching at school, undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Measure and monitor research quality, ethics, impact, and success rates of research funding applications and outputs linked to the Hub

Increase and diversify research and enterprise income generation streams for collaborative sustainability research.

The Hub is part of a larger research centre

The story so far…

It has been 18 months since the first meeting of the Toy Hub in April 2024 and as we grow and expand further we feel it is relevant to chart our progress with news updates and regular articles for everyone to enjoy here and on Linked in.

In our maiden feature we thought it appropriate to celebrate our existence so far and all the collaborative efforts that are building an effective forum for change in sustainability within the Toy and Play industry.

Pioneered by Vicki Thomas, the Toy Hub has brought together a wide spectrum of contributors driven by the cause including large toy companies, small toy making firms, sustainability consultants, academics, charities, testing organisations, waste processing firms, designers, trade organisations, educators, importers/traders and changemakers/campaigners. A comment that comes up in most meetings we have is how this diverse set of invested parties contributes to a rich forum of discussion always unveiling important insights into each other’s practices/research that ultimately provides convergent focus for collaboration.

As with any new organisation many of our early meetings have been oriented towards constructive administrative discussion however, we have enjoyed a rewarding and fascinating number of regular presentations by experts in their field over recent months. These presentations have been organised to support and contribute to wider the goals of the Toy Hub for instance bids for formal collaborative research projects and campaigns.

Ross Padgett -Dinosuit

Linked in – Toy Hub

Sustainable Futures Centre

Our Research Priorities

Members propose research topics that it makes sense to tackle togther

What Toy initiatives are underway?

Members share their own intiatives, projects and research outcomes. The Hub proposes to collate and share knowledge.

How can we Indentify toys and their materials?

The development of a system to identify playworn toys

November Update Link

Waste

Working towards a circular economy model with organisations, including Wastebuster

New materials

Researching and assessing new and alternative processes and materials

Design

Using design to develop toys that can be more sustainable.

Our discussions

8

Oct 24

Changes in European Union

Andrea Masotto from the European Toy Association introduced us to the ongoing work for the revision of the EU sustainability initiatives and how this will affect the Toy industry.

9

Nov.24

Wastebuster

Wastebuster presented their work with schools ‘Toys as a Force for Good: An introduction to Recycle to Read.”

13

Mar 25

UN Plastics Treaty

John Khoo from Lego gave us a fascinating summary of his reflections on the UN Plastic Treaty explaining that in the last few years, there has been a growing global momentum to tackle plastic pollution

14

April 25

Bio-Toy

Sonia Sanchez Torrez feedback to the Hub on the Bio-Toy event, which is held every two years, on recycled materials, recycled and bio-based polymers.

21

Nov. 25

Plan Toy

Nilobon Kijkailas fro Plan Toy in Thailand preesented the hstory of the company and its wide ranging suststainability ethos, including how it uses rubber wood from local plantations, to produce and power its production.

24

Feb. 26

Materials Library?

Friedemann Schaber proposed to re-establish a materials collection at the University. There had been one previously based on a RIBA (Archiecture library) subscription programme but he is proposing to set one up within the Sustinable Futures Research Centre. We were asked if the initative would be useful to Hub members. The comments on balance were favorable; if it could be administered and be virtual as well as tactile. It may prove to be a valuable resource, if it collects information on chemical composition of new materials, as toy companies will be looking to replace those banned under the incoming EU Toy Standards in 2030.

Join the discussions

102 Champions

Sharing their sustainability challenges

The Hub welcomes new members. There is currently no subscription or membership fee. Those that meet are generally involved with proposing or drving sustainabilty issues in their organisations. They come frome trade bodies, toy manufactures, distibutors with suppliers in more than one country, toy testing organisations, waste firms, specialist toy designers and researchers as well as social enterprises and consultants.

Learn More by contacting Vicki.Thomas@northampton.ac.uk

Licensed character washed up on Newport Beach April 2025

Academic Research Team

VIcki Thomas - Hub Lead

Vicki has been involved in designing for children since starting her consultancy in 1984. In 1992 started a specialist toy design course at the London College of furniture and was appointed as a Senior Lecturer, teaching on design courses at Northampton.

From 1998 Vicki contributed to several successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, including with toy companies and charities selling toys. A series of academic publications and exhibitions followed. Her work showcased the importance of play in design education and the key role of the Northamptonshire in the development of machine tools for plastic toys.

By 2018, her Consultancy was advising the UK National Parks Partnership on creating a licensing program, that had care for the environment at its core. There were also inquiries from publishers and theme park owners in China interested in European ideas of learning through play.

In 2020, a group based in Malaysia approached her to ask the University to set up a research centre to develop a new eco-plastic for the toy industry. Instead, the University encouraged her to establish the Sustainable Futures Research Centre, pulling together environmental and sustainability research being undertaken across the University.

Vicki retired from teaching in 2023 and then the faculty invited her back as a Research Fellow. She decided to focus on play and toys and established the Hub, whilst continuing to work with Sustainable Futures colleagues on other sectors.

Dr Emmeline Child

Emmeline leads Sustainable Futures, specialising in research on circular economies and textile waste. Her work with end-of-life textiles has brought to light the interconnected challenges of recycling soft toys and the value of remanufacturing in creating consumer goods that promote circularity

Dr Friedmann Schaber

Friedmann has collaborated on research with Vicki since he joined the University in 1997. They have shared interests in cross-cultural design and sustainability. He is also a member of the China and Emerging Economies Centre. As a product designer his research interests has focused on sustainable materials.

Rob Howe

Rob joined the Hub to support the bids linked to Ai and leading the collaboration with staff in Computing. Sustainable Futures is an interdisciplinary centre and call in expertise all faculties and network with researchers.