Cardinal Laboratories in Azusa makes a special shampoo that will get Fido smelling fresh after he’s been sprayed by a skunk. Once he’s cleaned up, he can enjoy an organic treat from the company’s Pet Botanics line.

Those products, and the others the company makes, now will be made without using any electricity from the grid. Cardinal last week went 100 percent solar, calling itself the first pet products manufacturer in the United States to do so.

“We’ll even be able sometimes to send some power back to the grid, so we will be energy producers rather than consumers,” said Tony de Vos, owner and president of Cardinal. “Utilizing solar power not only lowers our utility costs, it provides us with extra energy to do things that might not have been feasible before, like air-condition our factory floor, which greatly enhances employee morale.”

Cardinal spent about $1 million to remodel its facility for energy efficiency, including a massive solar array. Azusa’s city-owned utility will pay about $288,000 in a rebate. The company also installed skylights that cut down on the use of lighting by about 75 percent.

“Aside from the environmental benefits, it makes financial sense to be energy efficient as costs will only go up in the future,” de Vos said. “At Cardinal, we are glad to be in the green rather than red.”