Ethical retailer of the week: Smart Solar

Smart Solar provides decorations and tools for the garden that are powered by clean sunlight.

The firm has experienced steady growth since its launch in 2004. It says this prosperity reflects the demand from customers for products that have a smaller impact on the environment. Based in Oxford, it now has branches in the US, Germany, France and China.

Smart Solar products are clean, silent, self-sufficient and portable. They include lighting products for the garden such as lanterns or posts, water features like fountains or ponds, tools and other decorative items, all working through a system of photovoltaic (PV) panels.

The company has a focus on customers’ satisfaction but it also looks at embrace “environmental concerns and trend”, while doing business.

“For the last five years Smart Solar has won several business awards and shown commitment to attending exhibitions and trade shows both in the UK and in key export markets”, it says.

Smart Solar has committed to source material for its products by factories that met certain social and ethical standards.

The use of solar energy in the UK to power homes has increased rapidly over the past years, thanks to lower cost of PV. Latest figures said that 10m homes in the UK should have solar panels by 2020, which would allow the country to get 6% of its annual electricity needs from sunlight.

The number of houses with PV systems in Britain recently hit 500,000.

www.smartsolar.co.uk