ABOUT US

Inspirational, Educational, Sustainable.

About Our Toys

Innovative and highly original, our alternatively-powered toys make sensational gifts for all seasonal celebrations, birthdays and other special occasions. Suitable for all ages and walks of life, from high-powered execs to parents and kids, our engaging and attractive solar toy range includes kits and construction sets, gadgets and activities, which will provide hours of challenging and stimulating fun for all the family!

It’s Great to be Green!

Our alternatively-powered educational gifts and toys range from simple solar-powered motors to powered robots, hydrogen powered cars and innovative steam engines. Not only great for use in the home and garden, our range of educational toys make an excellent addition to the classroom. Kids can learn about alternative sources of power and become environmentally aware from a young age!

We’re often invited to schools which are running eco projects, and we know from experience that today’s kids are enthusiastic and engaged in climate issues and the environment. Our fabulous educational toys, activities and books will help to expand the minds of our future generations – those who are most likely to suffer the consequences of man’s wastefulness and contribution to global warming.

We started using solar powered models as a way of introducing our roof-top installations, but soon realised that when we exhibit our products at schools, trade and craft fairs, we are instantly surrounded by fascinated young – and young at heart – people, who are intrigued by what we do and what they can do to improve our planet’s future. They love to see our models move by ‘magic’ and see the results of blocking out the light or making the light brighter in order to speed up or slow down the mechanism. Our solar-powered cars bring a new twist to competitive racing: stop the light getting to your competitors’ cars by blocking their light, while making sure you’ve got enough to help your car win! So, what started as a means to demonstrating our large-scale systems has become a really exciting business in itself. We know that people love reading thrilling stories, building kits and learning about science.

Find Out About Tomorrow’s Technologies - Today.

Here at Harmsworth, Townley & Co. Ltd we continually strive to expand our sustainable range of toys and kits powered not only by the sun, but also by wind, hydrogen, water and good old elbow grease! Create surface tension by constructing, spinning and winding our great gadgets.

We have avoided the use of brittle plastics in our toys and gifts, choosing instead flexible materials (as used in the GIGO click-together range), wooden and metal building kits. We produce larger and smaller kits for all age ranges and abilities, which encourage manual dexterity and can be bought at pocket money prices!

Our climate friendly kits don’t require batteries but can be dual operated just in case it’s raining. If you do use batteries, we implore you to dispose of them responsibly. Find out if your local area operates a doorstep recycling company, or even better, use re-chargeables and reduce your landfill.

At Harmsworth, Townley & Co. Ltd we choose items which are scientific and sustainable, involve educational construction and above all, create fun! Climate change is scary, but by learning about how to prevent it, you’ll also help to reduce the CO² emissions produced by watching television and also help to eliminate repetitive strain injury caused by playing computer games!

Our favourite toys and kits help you to ‘do your bit’ by giving someone you care about the most priceless of gifts – spending time together in a common pursuit to have fun constructing and making memories – something that is often sadly lacking in our hectic energy-rich and time-poor daily lives. Spend time together and provide your children and grandchildren with the skills and practical knowledge to equip them for a sustainable future.

Executive Range

While we call some of range ‘executive’ because they make great desk toys, this doesn’t mean that they’re not suitable for children too. Our bicycle and spinning and flashing plane are fun for everyone but don’t involve as much construction. In addition, we’re also attracting carbon-guzzling and stressed execs to discover the benefits of going green!

Solar Gold

Part of the Harmsworth, Townley & Co. Ltd group of businesses, Solar Gold is one of only 40 Energy Savings Trust accredited solar panel (photo voltaic) installers in the UK today, and one of only a dozen for Redland solar tiles. Solar Gold was the initial arm of the renewables part of the business installing full scale solar systems and selling a wide range of solar powered sustainable and educational toys, kits and stand alone systems. Following the growth of the business it became necessary to launch our eco-life brand separating the renewable systems installation business, Eco-life Systems, from the renewable powered educational gifts and gadgets business, Eco-life gizmos. We are continually expanding our range of green products and building ideas, so if there’s something you’ve thought of – just ask!

Harmsworth, Townley & Co Ltd. operate from ‘The Melting Pot’ in the picturesque market town of Todmorden on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border. Placed deeply within the Calder Valley and surrounded by the beautiful Pennine hills Our location in the centre of the town allows for easy access by bus, train and on foot – almost 70% of our staff walk to work, in line with our environmental policy!

Our Premises

Our new premises have been purpose built to incorporate solar-powered systems, demonstrating that, unlike some companies which pay only lip-service to environmental matters, we practise what we preach. Reduced from 2000m² to only 250m², our building programme included installing our own 2.5kWpeak Solar Photovoltaic system (12 large solar panels) which generates over 25% of our annual electricity demand. We have installed a solar hot water system, linked to a biomass boiler, which provides all the hot water and heating we require throughout the building. This helps to cut down on our CO² emissions, especially in winter. Our internal and external walls are fully insulated and we have also incorporated a state-of-the-art low energy insulation rendering system.

In addition, we operate a low energy lighting system within the building which incorporates movement detectors for less-frequented rooms, such as storage, and our ‘designed-in’ natural ventilation system helps to keep us cool in summer and warm in winter, while minimising our carbon footprint. At the moment, compared with our carbon footprint of 2005, we’re down to the size of a little toe!

What’s more, here at Harmsworth, Townley & Co. Ltd we have minimised our waste and recycle anything we can – with the result that our previous 40 litre weekly rubbish collection has been reduced to one bag every three weeks! Suitable packaging is re-used, either for sending out orders (over 90% now go by post), or for alternative uses such as our nifty invention of using rivet boxes for compost containers! We’ve also reduced our company vehicle fleet from four cars to one over the last three years. When we moved to our central location, we sold and recycled over a thousand items from 40 years’ worth of accumulated ‘treasures’.

Located in the town centre, we’re just a minute’s walk away from the bus and train stations, and we encourage our visitors to arrive by public transport.

Our new computer system is also greener! The ‘thin client’ technology means that we can share printers and servers.
The staff at Harmsworth, Townley & Co Ltd don’t just talk the carbon reduction talk; we walk the walk, in both our business and personal lives. Clare Townley, Managing Director inherited the company in 2004, and since then has worked hard at reducing our emissions, while saving money and improving the working environment.

Award Winners!

Our Award Winning* 5kwP Solar Power Installation gained us the prestigious title of winner of the ‘2007 Yorkshire & Humber Microgeneration Award for Best Home Installation’, in the most contended class of these premier UK awards, and this was widely covered in the local and regional media.