— DISCLOSURE
Affiliate relationships and conflicts of interest.
This page is our public statement on how we handle commercial relationships, affiliate links, and any potential conflicts of interest in our reporting.
Affiliate links
Some links on this site are affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and buy something, we may receive a small commission from the retailer. This is at no additional cost to you.
Affiliate relationships do not influence our editorial coverage. We do not write favourable reviews in exchange for affiliate commissions, and we do not avoid criticising products from companies we have affiliate relationships with. If we recommend a product, it's because we believe it is the right recommendation — full stop.
Where a link in a piece is an affiliate link, we mark it. Where it is not, we don't. The reader should never have to guess.
Sponsored content
We do not currently accept sponsored content. If we ever do, sponsored pieces will be:
- Clearly labelled as sponsored at the top of the page
- Visually distinct from editorial content
- Excluded from RSS, the newsletter, and the home page recent-reporting grid
- Held to the same standard of factual accuracy as editorial content
Until that policy is in place, treat all content on the site as editorial.
Product samples and review units
We occasionally accept product samples or review units for evaluation. Accepting a sample does not commit us to writing about the product. If we do write about a sample, the piece will note that the product was provided to us. We do not return samples that fail review — we either keep them, donate them, or destroy them.
Other commercial interests
The publication's founder owns and operates an off-grid homestead in rural South Africa. This is a personal interest, not a commercial one — but it is worth noting that some of the systems we cover (solar, borehole, aquaponics) are systems he runs. Where personal experience informs a piece, we say so.