Chris Forbes
BA Philosophy, 1997
CO-FOUNDER, THE CHEEKY PANDA
“My experiences in lateral thinking, the ability to take calculated risk and scale up has allowed us to take a business from the back bedroom to a global business with a £12m turnover.”
Chris Forbes is Co-Founder of The Cheeky Panda, a company that makes household, baby, and beauty products out of bamboo. 27,000 trees are cut down every single day, and so Chris and fellow Co-Founder Julie, sought a more sustainable solution by using bamboo as a replacement material. As Chris explains, “sustainability is something very important to me and the decisions we make today will ripple through future generations long after I am gone.”
Chris’s journey with Greenwich began in the late-90’s when he completed a Philosophy degree, staying in accommodation at our Avery Hill campus. “Having studied geography, sociology, and psychology a lot of the key themes of these subjects were originated by philosophers and philosophical thinking. I was interested in how original ideas were formed and I found critical philosophical thinking useful throughout my career.”
During his time at Greenwich, Chris was involved as a non-sabbatical officer of the Sarky Cut student newspaper. Looking back fondly, Chris reflects that it “was a great experience as student magazines get the same press privileges as national newspapers, so think club reviews, film premieres, music events. I’d like to think I did a good job as with my final edition there was a great team in place and not one copy left from a print run of 5,000!”
After leaving Greenwich, Chris embarked on a career in executive recruitment in the city and ended up running a boutique search and selection business. This took him around the world, working with some of the world’s top engineers and financial professionals. Chris would later sell this business to focus on The Cheeky Panda.
As Chris explains, “nobody in the UK was selling bamboo tissue when we started and we have created a whole range of high-quality affordable bamboo products from toilet tissue, kitchen towel, and straws, to wipes and nappies.” Their products quickly became bestsellers on Amazon and, being kinder to those with sensitive skin, are both a health conscious as well as sustainable alternative to traditional products. Since launching, The Cheeky Panda has saved over 250,000 trees.
Looking ahead, what is Chris’s vision for a sustainable future? “At Cheeky Panda we are green pioneers and aim to inspire others you can create high quality environmentally friendly products that don’t cost the earth. If we can inspire other people to follow in our footsteps, then we will have achieved something very special and the steps towards a greener world.”
Chris Forbes
BA Philosophy, 1997
CO-FOUNDER, THE CHEEKY PANDA
“My experiences in lateral thinking, the ability to take calculated risk and scale up has allowed us to take a business from the back bedroom to a global business with a £12m turnover.”
Chris Forbes is Co-Founder of The Cheeky Panda, a company that makes household, baby, and beauty products out of bamboo. 27,000 trees are cut down every single day, and so Chris and fellow Co-Founder Julie, sought a more sustainable solution by using bamboo as a replacement material. As Chris explains, “sustainability is something very important to me and the decisions we make today will ripple through future generations long after I am gone.”
Chris’s journey with Greenwich began in the late-90’s when he completed a Philosophy degree, staying in accommodation at our Avery Hill campus. “Having studied geography, sociology, and psychology a lot of the key themes of these subjects were originated by philosophers and philosophical thinking. I was interested in how original ideas were formed and I found critical philosophical thinking useful throughout my career.”
During his time at Greenwich, Chris was involved as a non-sabbatical officer of the Sarky Cut student newspaper. Looking back fondly, Chris reflects that it “was a great experience as student magazines get the same press privileges as national newspapers, so think club reviews, film premieres, music events. I’d like to think I did a good job as with my final edition there was a great team in place and not one copy left from a print run of 5,000!”
After leaving Greenwich, Chris embarked on a career in executive recruitment in the city and ended up running a boutique search and selection business. This took him around the world, working with some of the world’s top engineers and financial professionals. Chris would later sell this business to focus on The Cheeky Panda.
As Chris explains, “nobody in the UK was selling bamboo tissue when we started and we have created a whole range of high-quality affordable bamboo products from toilet tissue, kitchen towel, and straws, to wipes and nappies.” Their products quickly became bestsellers on Amazon and, being kinder to those with sensitive skin, are both a health conscious as well as sustainable alternative to traditional products. Since launching, The Cheeky Panda has saved over 250,000 trees.
Looking ahead, what is Chris’s vision for a sustainable future? “At Cheeky Panda we are green pioneers and aim to inspire others you can create high quality environmentally friendly products that don’t cost the earth. If we can inspire other people to follow in our footsteps, then we will have achieved something very special and the steps towards a greener world.”
