New Company Debuts 100th Product with Solar Lamp and Charger

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Power to Change Lives: Solar Lamp and Charger Now the 100th Object in the History of the World
Toughstuff, which started trading just 15 months ago, has already sold more than 100,000 solar power kits benefitting 380,000 low-income consumers in Eastern and Southern Africa. Products have also been distributed to people in temporary camps in Haiti following the earthquake.

A solar lamp and charger, on sale for around $10, are now rubbing shoulders at The British Museum in London with some of the most rare and priceless artifacts in the world. The lamp and charger are the final members of the eclectic group of items which tell the History of the World in 100 Objects, the BBC and The British Museum have revealed today.

From an ancient Egyptian mummy, to the Sutton Hoo helmet, a Victorian tea-set and a credit card, all the objects featured in the BBC series reflect humankind’s development through its creations. The solar powered lamp and charger have been described by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, as objects which tell “the story of the ingenuity and the challenges that shape humanity in the 21st century.”

The inclusion of the solar kit as the 100th object has been welcomed by Andrew Tanswell, a British social entrepreneur. His organisation, ToughStuff, manufactures and sells robust lamps and chargers, built to withstand harsh environments, to some of the world’s poorest people.

Andrew Tanswell said: “The inclusion of portable solar technology in the British Museum’s collection confirms how solar lamps and chargers are changing lives by bringing electricity to people who’ve never had it before — powering mobile phones, lights and radios.

“It also demonstrates how the business model developed to sell these products is working effectively, enabling people in very remote areas to have access to this technology and helping to lift people from poverty through enterprise.”

1.46 billion people in developing countries have no access to on-grid electricity. They use kerosene and candles for light, and poor quality dry-cell batteries for radios. These are costly, polluting, and damage people’s health. But ToughStuff’s solar kit offers an alternative: clean and free energy, saving people money whilst improving their health and the environment.

ToughStuff has also developed innovative distribution systems to get products to remote settlements. For example, through a “Business in a Box” program Village Solar Entrepreneurs sell and hire out solar panels and chargers.

Toughstuff, which started trading just 15 months ago, has already sold more than 100,000 solar power kits benefitting 380,000 low-income consumers in Eastern and Southern Africa. Products have also been distributed to people in temporary camps in Haiti following the earthquake.
Contact Information www.ToughStuffonline.org

More About ToughStuff
Over the past 15 months ToughStuff has brought clean and affordable energy to 380,000 low income people in the developing world and saved 1,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions. ToughStuff products help to:
·    Save consumers money and help lift them from poverty
·    Cause a significant reduction in CO2
·    Remove the environmental damage of discarded batteries
·    Enhance health by decreasing exposure to kerosene fumes
·    Improve study and educational opportunities thanks to dependable light sources
·    Increase micro enterprise employment by supporting local ToughStuff entrepreneurs.

ToughStuff is the winner of the 2010 NEMEX Renewables Innovation Award sponsored by British Gas at this year’s Environment and Energy Awards.

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