In today’s world of global trade and international commerce, it’s often hard to know where the products you purchase are actually made. Sometimes it’s important for an individual or company to ensure the products they purchase are made in America. But how can you know for sure?
In such cases, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has established laws that clearly define what does and does not constitute a “made in America” product. According to the FTC, for a company to advertise a product is made in America, it must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. This policy “applies to all products advertised or sold in the U.S., except for those specifically subject to country-of-origin labeling by other laws,” according to the FTC.
When it comes to solar panel manufacturing, there are many companies in the market, most of them foreign. However, Shine uses only panels that are American made in compliance with the above FTC regulations. Our primary provider is a solar manufacturing company called Silfab. Silfab is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with two manufacturing facilities located just outside of Seattle in Burlington and Bellingham, Washington. These two plants employ American workers and produce American made solar panels for the entire North American market. In fact, the Burlington facility just opened and uses the most advanced solar manufacturing equipment available.
Silfab manufactures a variety of solar panels for both residential and commercial applications and is the default provider for all Shine projects. They cost a little more, but are high-quality, Tier I, monocrystalline products. There are some instances when we are unable to use Silfab, such as when a customer requests a different brand, is on a budget or there are national supply issues like we have sometimes seen during the pandemic. However, 95% of all Shine projects use Silfab panels.
As an American business, Shine is proud to support other American businesses whenever possible. That is why we chose Silfab and why we encourage you to buy American whenever possible.
