Banbury author hopes her main character will soon be leaping out of the pages and into children's homes​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A Banbury author is hoping to help one of her main characters leap out of the pages and into children's homes.

But she wants to make sure that it is done in an environmentally-friendly way.

A couple years ago artist Emily Gale wrote a children’s book called Mighty Maurice - and now she is hoping to release toys of the main character, with some feedback from parents.

She said: "Most cuddly or plush toys nowadays are produced by large companies as cheaply as possible and are usually bad for the environment having been made with polyester and non recyclable materials that will inevitably end up in landfill.

"I hope to change this a little by having my toys made with 100 per cent recyclable materials, sustainable cotton and stuffing that’s been made from recycled plastic bottles, but need some help.

"I don’t want to price people out of the market by creating something that’ll be overly expensive, so have made a short questionnaire asking what is or isn’t important when buying a soft toy for a child."

Some of the questions include: Would you pay more for an eco-friendly toy? If you had to choose between a machine washable plush made from polyester or an eco-friendly plush but hand wash only, which would you choose? Would you choose a toy hand finished in the country that you live in over fully made in China?

"I hope to get parents involved in this questionnaire, as their responses will have a real impact on what sort of toy I have produced, and their thoughts would highlight the importance or unimportance of eco-friendliness in the toy making industry," added Emily.

"Ultimately, I hope to create a toy that not only meets the needs/wants of the child, but also the parent."

The questionnaire can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrWh-UzmZH9d6HluAZtcKhZD0eyaAqmHa7bzfTET8NvNWNcQ/viewform

The book, Mighty Maurice, tackles the issue of bullying as the eponymous protagonist, Maurice, is kicked out of his herd and forced to find others who’ll accept him. It is available in the Zero Waste shop in Castle Quay, or online via Etsy or Amazon.