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Suntoy Advocates for Fair Trade
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Suntoy Advocates for Fair Trade

Suntoy Advocates for Fair Trade

By suntoy|2025-02-24T15:50:26+00:00January 13th, 2020|

Suntoy advocates for responsible social and environmental standards in the manufacture of all our products. Our team has adopted goals similar to Fair Trade ideals to insure honorable working conditions and promote sustainability within our company. We are transparent about the working conditions of all our employees and promote respect and meaningful dialogue.

The Consol Solar Jar is a responsibly and fairly produced solar light handmade in our factory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Suntoy employs 44 adult South Africans from the Alexandra and Soweto townships in Gauteng. They have been trained in photovoltaic theory with overall skills upliftment. As a team, they have made, to date, ¾ of a million units (750k).

We thereby promote greater equity in our international trading partnership with Sonnenglas, our European distributor. Sonnenglas is supportive of the jobs created in South Africa.

As a joint venture with Consol, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices are Suntoy’s focuses. Our team has made a conscious decision to adopt Common Shared Value, a philosophy that has made our company culture fair.

Wire Artisans Shine at Suntoy

By suntoy|2025-02-24T15:50:26+00:00January 13th, 2020|

Tourists visiting South Africa often return home to global destinations with beaded wire artefacts: from tiny mementoes, such as key rings, to tall sculptures of giraffes. Wire and bead artisans, creating in various gauges and colours with few tools but their own hands, are common sightings on our Jozi street corners. They may have good sales one month and none the next. Income varies, yet many tenaciously continue, their need for a job pushing them to become entrepreneurs.

One such wire artist stands out from the rest. Maxwell Jaravazo is driven to create the extraordinary from a piece of wire and a handful of beads. His imagination spans beyond the Melville street corner where he used to trade from. Max crafts magic within his hands. For many years, Harald Schulz passed him on the street and they struck up a friendship. When the very first Consol Solar Jar needed a wire handle and bracing, Max was Harald’s first choice as fellow designer. Together, they made the prototype in January 2011 while sitting on the pavement of 7th Street in Melville.

As demand grew, Suntoy grew… and so did Max. Suntoy permanently employed him three years ago. As a significant member of our team, he has job security and a steady monthly income. He was promoted to Factory Supervisor and now trains and overseas a team of 12 fellow wire artisans. These men are now all under one roof from multiple street corners across our city. That’s job creation, the South African way.

Stories Build Suntoy Brand

By suntoy|2025-02-24T15:50:26+00:00January 13th, 2020|

In order to flourish in our current South African economy, creative brand leadership is imperative for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) such as Suntoy. An innovative business model with strong social responsibilities drives our brand.

Being a manufacturer, we don’t have a direct link to the end-user as our resellers do. To create awareness, our brand building and cultural movement strategies have had to spark interest unconventionally by engaging content ideas through storytelling. At Suntoy, we’ve introduced our team, our values and culture, the context of our products, our significance as a vehicle for education, job creation and renewable energy solutions through the telling of stories. Our stories tell more than an online product catalogue ever could.

With each tale told, our brand is further established. Our blog not only holds our stories, but the experiences of our customers too. Stories have strengthened our tribe, furthered our reach and enabled us to build a smart, authentic and valued brand with prospective future forecasts beyond the products we assemble. Our customers continue to purchase our brand and buy our story – not just our product. That’s essential to Suntoy’s livelihood.

Three challenging yet exciting years of strategic thought have enhanced our brand equity. With this solid grounding firmly established, our brand is credibly differentiated and experienced. Suntoy, the sunniest team of solar enthusiasts, is ready to launch our next chapter. Keep your eyes peeled. That’s what having fun in the South African sun is all about!