26 alternatives
NaturFreunde Deutschlands is a non-profit association for outdoor leisure with more than 65,000 members in over 500 local groups, which runs more than 350 Naturfreundehäuser (simple guesthouses in…
Alternative to commercial tourism, package holidays and private gyms
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Cohabilis is the French network of intergenerational home-sharing associations: a person aged 60 or over rents a room in their home to someone under 30, a student, apprentice, trainee or young worker…
Alternative to expensive student rooms, and to living alone in old age
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Oxfam Shops are second-hand shops in Germany, run by Oxfam with about 4,000 volunteers, that sell donated clothes, books, music, films and household goods. Their surplus funds Oxfam Deutschland’s…
Alternative to fast fashion and new books, and online second-hand platforms that earn on every sale
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The Volkshochschulen (vhs) are the public adult education centres in Germany: 815 centres with about 2,630 branches, most run by towns and districts. They offer affordable courses in languages…
Alternative to expensive private courses and coaching, and online course platforms that sell subscriptions
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Le Pari Solidaire is a Paris association that places young people under 30 in the homes of people aged 60 or more, in Paris and Île-de-France. The young person gets a room for a small contribution…
Alternative to living alone in old age and to overpriced rooms in Paris
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ACORN is a community and tenants’ union in England and Wales whose members act together against bad landlords, to get repairs done, deposits returned and evictions stopped, for a membership fee based…
Alternative to facing a landlord or letting agent alone
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The Community Land Trust Network is the charity for community land trusts in England and Wales: local, member-controlled non-profits that own land so that the homes on it stay affordable for local…
Alternative to speculative housing whose prices follow the market, not local wages
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The FSGT is a French multisport federation founded in 1934, with about 4,200 self-managed clubs, 200,000 people taking part and around a hundred sports, built on the idea that everyone should have…
Alternative to expensive gym chains and commercial sports clubs
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PDSA is a British veterinary charity that treats the pets of people on benefits for free or at reduced prices, in its own pet hospitals and through partner vets.
Alternative to private vets that people on benefits can’t afford
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The Ramblers is a British walking charity whose roughly 485 local groups lead tens of thousands of walks a year across England, Scotland and Wales, and which campaigns to protect public footpaths and…
Alternative to paid guided walks and walking holidays
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Reuse Network, called the Furniture Re-use Network until 2018, is the UK umbrella charity of local charities and social enterprises that collect donated furniture and appliances and pass them on at…
Alternative to cheap new furniture and appliances bought on credit
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The Mietshäuser Syndikat is a German network of self-organised housing projects that buys buildings and takes them off the property market for good. It is an alternative to renting from investors and…
Alternative to renting from investors and real estate companies that resell for profit
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Simply Good Food is a recipe site of classic, simple dishes, mostly vegetarian, in English, French and German: soups, salads, pasta, curries, bakes and desserts. It is an alternative to recipe sites…
Alternative to recipe sites full of advertising, pop-ups and life stories before the recipe
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Social grocery shops (épiceries solidaires) sell food, fresh produce and hygiene products to households on low incomes at 10 to 30 % of the usual price. Customers choose on the shelves and pay at the…
Alternative to food parcels, for households on a small income who want to choose their own shopping
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The ANE Elternbriefe are 46 parent letters from the Berlin association Arbeitskreis Neue Erziehung, sent by post from a child’s birth until its eighth birthday, each explaining what parents can…
Alternative to parenting apps and commercial baby magazines full of advertising
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L’Arbre Vert is a French brand of washing-up liquids, laundry detergents, household cleaners and toiletries sold in supermarkets, most of them certified with the EU Ecolabel and made in France.
Alternative to conventional cleaning products and toiletries from big consumer-goods groups
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HI France is the French network of Hostelling International youth hostels: about 80 hostels with some 5,000 beds in cities, by the sea and in the mountains, with beds in shared rooms from about…
Alternative to hotel chains and holiday rentals for a cheap night
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momox is a Berlin company that buys used books, CDs, DVDs, games and clothes from private people and resells them online, in Germany through its shop medimops and in France through momox shop. Buying…
Alternative to buying new books, CDs, DVDs and video games
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Couchsurfing is a website and app that connects travellers with locals who put them up for free, on a sofa, in a spare room or on a mattress. Hosts may not charge for the stay, and they decide whom…
Alternative to hotels and holiday rentals such as Airbnb
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“Énergie moins chère ensemble” is the group purchase of electricity and gas run by UFC-Que Choisir, France’s largest consumer association, through its subsidiary Que Choisir Ensemble. Households…
Alternative to negotiating alone with energy suppliers, or staying on an old, expensive contract
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Too Good To Go is a free app that sells the day’s unsold food from bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants and caterers as “surprise bags”, at about a third of their stated value. Customers book and pay…
Alternative to bakeries and shops throwing away the day’s unsold food
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Vinted is a website and app for selling second-hand items between private people: mostly clothes, but also shoes, children’s things, books, homeware and electronics, usually at prices far below new…
Alternative to buying new clothes from fast-fashion chains
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Back Market is a French online marketplace for refurbished electronics: smartphones, laptops, tablets, game consoles and household appliances, restored and sold by professional refurbishers rather…
Alternative to buying a new smartphone, laptop or tablet
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BlaBlaCar is a French carpooling platform: drivers publish a trip and sell the empty seats in their car to passengers going the same way. Booking and payment go through the website or the app.
Alternative to driving alone, or to expensive train tickets between poorly connected towns
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Workaway is a website that connects travellers with hosts in more than 170 countries: the traveller helps a few hours a day and gets board and lodging in exchange. Hosts are families, farms, hostels…
Alternative to package holidays and paid accommodation when travelling for a long time
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PAP, short for De Particulier à Particulier, is a French property listings site and magazine where private landlords and sellers advertise homes directly to tenants and buyers, without an estate…
Alternative to estate agents and their fees for renting or selling a home
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Leisure, sport and outdoor gear
Travel and tourism
Renting and tenants’ rights
Ageing, end of life and funerals
Second-hand, swapping, lending and sharing
Clothing and mending
Donations, volunteering and non-profits
Education and training
Neighbourhood, community spaces and local networks
Political participation and citizens’ initiatives
Housing, building and renovation
Pets and pet food
Health, care and wellbeing
Furniture and furnishing
Electronics and home appliances
Work and cooperative economy
Nutrition advice and recipes
Food and community farming
Shopping: online, marketplaces and local shops
Children, family and toys
Household and personal care
Cosmetics and hygiene
Culture: books, music, films and streaming
Energy and heating
Law, consumer protection and advice
Waste, recycling and zero waste
Restaurants and food delivery
Mobility, cars and transport
