65 alternatives
“Que faire de mes objets et déchets ?” is a free website of ADEME, the French agency for ecological transition: typing the name of an object or a type of waste shows how to repair, give away, resell…
Alternative to throwing everything in the bin because you don’t know who repairs, takes back or recycles it
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Refuges LPO is the scheme of the French bird protection league LPO for turning a garden, a balcony, a school or a company site into a refuge for wildlife, by signing a charter and following its…
Alternative to tidy lawns, pesticides and garden-centre landscaping
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The French Ministry of Health publishes the results of the official checks on tap water for every commune, free online, so anyone can see what is in their water before paying for bottles.
Alternative to bottled water bought out of distrust of the tap
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The “Économiser” pages of ADEME, the French ecological transition agency, are free guides to spending less on electricity, heating, fuel, water and everyday purchases. They need no account, carry no…
Alternative to energy-saving advice from suppliers and salespeople who want to sell you something
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An AMAP (association pour le maintien d’une agriculture paysanne) is a group of households that buys part of a nearby farm’s harvest in advance, for a season, and collects a basket each week at a…
Alternative to supermarket vegetables bought at prices that squeeze farmers
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The Blauer Engel (Blue Angel) is the German government’s eco-label, introduced in February 1978. It marks products and services that do less harm to the environment than others of the same kind…
Alternative to fresh-fibre paper and office products with vague “eco” claims
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iFixit is a free online repair manual with tens of thousands of illustrated, step-by-step guides for phones, laptops, consoles, household appliances and more, written by the company and its community…
Alternative to manufacturers’ after-sales services that are expensive or refuse to repair, and replacing a device at the first fault
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L’Heureux Cyclage is the French network of community bike workshops: associations where you repair your own bike with their tools and the advice of volunteers or staff, for a small membership fee.
Alternative to paying a bike shop for every repair, or buying a new bike
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MIRAMAP is the national network of the AMAP (associations pour le maintien d’une agriculture paysanne), groups of consumers who sign a contract with a local farmer, pay for the harvest in advance and…
Alternative to supermarket fruit and vegetables bought from industrial farms and central purchasing
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Refill Deutschland is a non-profit initiative that shows where anyone can refill a water bottle with tap water for free: shops, cafés, offices and public buildings put a blue Refill sticker on the…
Alternative to buying bottled water in plastic bottles
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A Repair Café is a free meeting where volunteers help people repair their own broken things: toasters, lamps, clothes, bikes, toys, laptops. It is an alternative to throwing away a broken appliance…
Alternative to throwing away broken appliances and buying new ones, often because repair seems too expensive
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The Netzwerk Solidarische Landwirtschaft is the German association of community supported agriculture (Solawi): farms whose members pay a monthly share of the farm’s costs and get a share of the…
Alternative to supermarket vegetables from heated greenhouses and long-distance imports
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The Man in Seat 61 is a guide to travelling by train and ferry, written since 2001 by Mark Smith, a former British railway manager. For hundreds of routes, it explains which trains to take, how and…
Alternative to flight comparison sites and booking platforms that only show planes
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Zero Waste France is an independent French association that works to reduce waste at the source: it publishes practical guides for households, schools and towns, investigates the packaging and waste…
Alternative to the advice of the packaging industry, which says recycling is enough
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The BZfE Saisonkalender is the seasonal calendar for fruit and vegetables of Germany’s Federal Centre for Nutrition, free as an app and as a poster, showing when each kind is harvested in Germany and…
Alternative to buying strawberries in winter and other out-of-season produce flown or trucked in
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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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A cooperative supermarket belongs to its customers: each member buys shares, works a few hours a month in the shop and buys food there at lower margins than in ordinary supermarkets. Only members can…
Alternative to supermarket chains that set prices and margins for their shareholders
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The Deutscher Tierschutzbund is the umbrella organisation of animal welfare associations and animal shelters in Germany. At the end of 2023 it had 785 local member associations in 16 regional…
Alternative to buying puppies and kittens online, often from illegal trade
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The Energie-Info comparator is the official comparison tool of France’s energy ombudsman (médiateur national de l’énergie). It lists the electricity and gas offers of every supplier and ranks them by…
Alternative to commercial comparison sites paid by suppliers that sell your contact details
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Gesundheitsinformation.de is the health information site of IQWiG, the German institute that assesses the benefits and harms of medical treatments. It explains illnesses, examinations and treatments…
Alternative to health websites financed by advertising, supplement sellers and “Doctor Google”
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Open Food Facts is a free, collaborative database of food products run by a French non-profit association: volunteers scan barcodes and photograph packaging, and the app and website then show the…
Alternative to the marketing on food packaging, and commercial food-scanning apps
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Ressourceries and recycleries are local second-hand shops, most often run by associations, that collect objects people no longer want, check, clean and repair them, then sell them at low prices or…
Alternative to throwing away objects that still work, and buying everything new
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The Unverpackt Verband (Unverpackt e.V.) is the association of German zero-packaging shops, where customers fill their own jars, bags and bottles with dry goods, oils, cleaning products and cosmetics…
Alternative to supermarket groceries wrapped in plastic
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The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is an environmental charity near Machynlleth in mid-Wales that teaches low-carbon building, eco-renovation and renewable energy through free information…
Alternative to conventional building and renovation that ignores energy and materials
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The DGE recommendations, “Gut essen und trinken”, are Germany’s food-based dietary guidelines from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, which since 2024 take the environment into account as well…
Alternative to diet trends, influencers and nutrition advice paid for by food brands
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Energy Saving Trust is a British organisation that gives free, impartial advice on insulating and heating a home, and runs government advice services such as Home Energy Scotland, without selling or…
Alternative to energy advice from installers and sales companies that sell the product
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The EU Ecolabel is the European Union’s official environmental label, with a flower logo, for products and services that meet published criteria; for cleaning products it limits hazardous substances…
Alternative to cleaning products with green claims that nobody checks
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MonGR is the official website of the GR long-distance footpaths in France, published by the French hiking federation (FFRandonnée), with a map of the trails, themed route ideas, topoguides for sale…
Alternative to Komoot and other commercial hiking apps
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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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Shelter is a British housing charity whose free online advice explains tenants’ rights in England on deposits, repairs, rent rises and eviction, with a helpline and webchat for urgent cases and…
Alternative to relying on lettings agents and landlords for advice on your rights
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The Slow Food Genussführer is a German restaurant guide of about 450 places chosen by Slow Food volunteers for regional, seasonal cooking without convenience products, published as a book and an app…
Alternative to sponsored restaurant guides and star rankings
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Zu gut für die Tonne! (“Too good for the bin”) is the German federal government’s campaign against food waste, with a free app of about 800 leftover recipes, storage tips for each food and a…
Alternative to throwing away leftovers and food past its best-before date
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Aeternitas is a German consumer association for funerals and cemeteries, the “Verbraucherinitiative Bestattungskultur”. Its website explains how burial works in Germany, what each part of a funeral…
Alternative to funeral homes that sell expensive packages to grieving families in a hurry
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Bienvenue à la ferme is the network of French farmers who sell their produce directly or welcome visitors, and its free website maps them: farm shops, farmers’ markets, producers’ shops, “drives…
Alternative to supermarket fruit, vegetables and meat that pass through several middlemen
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Don en Confiance is a French association that awards a label to charities and foundations that sign its ethical code and accept continuous checks. Donors use it to see which organisations appealing…
Alternative to giving to street or phone fundraisers without checking the organisation
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The DZI Spendensiegel is a German seal for charities that collect donations. The DZI (Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen), a foundation in Berlin, awards it each year after checking the…
Alternative to giving to the organisation with the most emotional advertising, without knowing how the money is used
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Good On You rates fashion brands on their impact on people, the planet and animals, on a five-step scale from “We avoid” to “Great”. Its website and free app for iOS and Android cover more than 7,000…
Alternative to the green marketing of fashion brands, which nobody checks
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Karte von morgen (“map of tomorrow”) is an open map of sustainable initiatives and businesses: organic shops, repair cafés, community gardens, cooperatives, sharing places, places to eat and more, in…
Alternative to commercial map apps that list whoever pays for advertising first
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Les Scop is the website of the Confédération générale des Scop et des Scic (CG Scop), the federation of French worker cooperatives (Scop) and multi-stakeholder cooperatives (Scic). In a Scop the…
Alternative to companies owned by distant shareholders, where employees have no say
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Pour bien vieillir is a free website of the French public pension funds that helps retired people stay healthy and independent: advice on physical activity, food, sleep, memory, falls, social life…
Alternative to private retirement-home brokers and the advice of companies selling senior services
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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 Association Végétarienne de France (AVF) is a French non-profit that helps people eat less meat or none at all, with free leaflets on nutrition, recipes, cooking workshops, the Défi Veggie…
Alternative to eating meat every day without knowing how to cook without it
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The Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack label from A (dark green) to E (red) that sums up a food's nutritional quality per 100 g or 100 ml, so that two breakfast cereals or two pizzas can be compared at a…
Alternative to nutrition tables in small print and to health claims on packaging
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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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The calendrier de l’Avent inversé, or reverse Advent calendar, turns the December countdown around: instead of opening a window each day, the family puts one useful item a day into a box, then gives…
Alternative to bought Advent calendars filled with chocolate, cosmetics or toys
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Compassion in Dying is a British charity that helps people plan their care at the end of life, with free living will (advance decision) forms, guidance on lasting power of attorney and a free…
Alternative to paying a solicitor for a living will
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Écotable is a French label and guide for restaurants that cook with organic, local and seasonal produce, with three levels from “transition started” to “an example for all” and a map of about 300…
Alternative to restaurant guides that say nothing about where the food comes from
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Food Made Good is the sustainability standard of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, a British organisation that rates restaurants, cafés and caterers on sourcing, society and environment and…
Alternative to restaurant guides that rate the food but not the sourcing
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The Initiative Pro Recyclingpapier is a German alliance of companies that promotes office and printing paper with the Blauer Engel, made from 100 % waste paper, and runs the Papieratlas, a yearly…
Alternative to virgin-fibre office paper
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Love Food Hate Waste is the UK campaign against household food waste run by the charity WRAP, with a portion planner, an A–Z of how to store each food and a fridge temperature tool, free on its…
Alternative to throwing away food that could have been eaten
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Manger Bouger is the French public health website on food and physical activity, run by Santé publique France, with the official recommendations and La Fabrique à menus, a free weekly menu planner…
Alternative to diet apps, paid meal plans and food advice from the food industry
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NATRUE and Cosmébio are two labels for natural and organic cosmetics, NATRUE common in Germany and across Europe, Cosmébio in France, whose criteria are published and whose products are checked by…
Alternative to “natural” and “green” claims on cosmetics that no one checks
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The Natural Death Centre is a British charity that gives free, impartial advice on natural burial, do-it-yourself and environmentally friendly funerals, and on consumer rights when arranging a…
Alternative to conventional funeral packages
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Seconde Chance is a French website that lists animals waiting for adoption in shelters and animal welfare associations all over France, so that people looking for a dog, cat or rabbit can find one…
Alternative to buying a dog or cat online, from a breeder or at a fair
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smarticular is a German website and publisher with free recipes for making cleaning and laundry products from a few basic ingredients, such as baking soda, washing soda, vinegar, citric acid and curd…
Alternative to buying a separate cleaning product for every job
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The Eatwell Guide is the UK government’s picture of a healthy, balanced diet, a plate divided into food groups, explained for free on the NHS website and published by the Office for Health…
Alternative to diet plans, supplements and nutrition advice sold by brands
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The ZQP advice database is a free, ad-free search for care advice services across Germany, including the Pflegestützpunkte, run by the Zentrum für Qualität in der Pflege, a non-profit foundation in…
Alternative to care advice from providers who sell the care
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“Is private health insurance worth it?” is a free guide from MoneyHelper, the money guidance service of the UK government’s Money and Pensions Service. It helps people decide whether they need…
Alternative to advice from brokers and comparison sites paid on commission by health insurers
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Which?, the UK consumer association, rates private medical insurers by what their customers say after making a claim. Price comparison sites rank policies by price and are paid by the insurers they…
Alternative to health insurance comparison sites and lead generators that sell your details to brokers
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The Fédération FDN brings together about 30 non-profit internet access providers run as associations, almost all in France, plus Neutrinet in Belgium and SNN in Switzerland. Seven associations…
Alternative to big commercial internet providers such as Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues
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MesAidesVélo is a free French website that lists the public subsidies for buying a bike: after entering where one lives, it shows which aids from the town, the intercommunality, the department and…
Alternative to searching every town hall and regional website for bike purchase subsidies
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Tierheimhelden is a German website that brings together animals from shelters looking for a home, so that people who want a dog, cat or small animal can search many shelters at once instead of…
Alternative to buying a pet from classified ads or a breeder
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Waterwise is a British not-for-profit organisation that gives free advice on using less water at home, with figures for each use, a water calculator and guides, and campaigns for water efficiency…
Alternative to water-saving gadgets sold with marketing claims
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Imprim’Vert is a French environmental label for print shops, created in 1998, which nearly 2,000 production sites hold; it checks how they dispose of hazardous waste, store dangerous liquids, replace…
Alternative to print shops with no environmental commitment
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Waste, recycling and zero waste
Repair and do it yourself
Second-hand, swapping, lending and sharing
Garden, seeds and biodiversity
Water and sanitation
Energy and heating
Household and personal care
Food and community farming
Neighbourhood, community spaces and local networks
Office, paper and printing
Electronics and home appliances
Mobility, cars and transport
Travel and tourism
Nutrition advice and recipes
Renting and tenants’ rights
Ageing, end of life and funerals
Shopping: online, marketplaces and local shops
Work and cooperative economy
Pets and pet food
Law, consumer protection and advice
Health, care and wellbeing
Housing, building and renovation
Education and training
Leisure, sport and outdoor gear
Furniture and furnishing
Restaurants and food delivery
Donations, volunteering and non-profits
Clothing and mending
Children, family and toys
Celebrations, gifts and holidays
Cosmetics and hygiene
Banking, insurance and pensions
Telecoms: mobile, internet and email
Digital services, software and devices
