16 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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Commown is a cooperative from Strasbourg that rents out electronics chosen to last: Fairphone smartphones, laptops from Why! and HP, desktop PCs, Repeat headphones and refurbished devices. The…
Alternative to buying new electronics on credit and replacing them at the first breakdown
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Envie is a French network of work-integration companies that collect used household appliances, repair them and sell them again with a two-year warranty valid in all its shops. The first opened in…
Alternative to buying a new washing machine, fridge or cooker
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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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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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Fairphone is a Dutch company from Amsterdam that makes smartphones built to be repaired and kept for years, with a larger share of fairly sourced materials. The battery, screen, cameras, USB-C port…
Alternative to smartphones that are glued shut, get few years of updates and are replaced every two or three years
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Telecoop is a French cooperative mobile operator, founded in 2020, whose plans encourage people to use less data and keep their phone longer. It uses Orange’s 4G network, and it is an alternative to…
Alternative to the large mobile operators and their incentives to consume ever more data and change phones often
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Compagnons Bâtisseurs is a French network of associations that helps low-income tenants and owners repair and renovate their own homes themselves, with a building professional and volunteers at their…
Alternative to paying a contractor for every repair when money is short
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1083 is a French brand of jeans, jackets and sneakers made in France, based in Romans-sur-Isère in the Drôme. Its name is the distance in kilometres between the two towns of mainland France that lie…
Alternative to fast-fashion jeans and sneakers made far away under poor working conditions
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TEAM 7 is an Austrian maker of solid wood furniture, from tables and beds to wardrobes and kitchens, made to order in Upper Austria from European hardwoods glued without formaldehyde and finished…
Alternative to flat-pack chipboard furniture that rarely survives a second move
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VAUDE is a family-owned German maker of outdoor clothing, backpacks, tents and bike bags, based at Obereisenbach near Lake Constance. It is known for its environmental work: PFAS-free products…
Alternative to outdoor brands that use toxic chemicals and make gear that is hard to repair
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Adopte un bureau is a French company that buys used office furniture from businesses, refurbishes it in its workshops in Antony and Albi and resells it, with a 24-month warranty, at much lower prices…
Alternative to buying new office furniture
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Grüne Erde is an Austrian maker of natural mattresses, beds and wood furniture, with home textiles and cosmetics. Its mattresses are made by hand in Upper Austria from wool, natural latex, coconut…
Alternative to foam mattresses and furniture in chipboard and synthetic glue
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Spareka is a French website that helps people repair their own household appliances: free fault diagnosis, more than 900 free tutorials, video help from a professional technician and spare parts for…
Alternative to throwing away a broken appliance or paying for a call-out
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Worn Wear is Patagonia’s programme for used and repaired clothing: the outdoor brand buys back its own garments, resells them second-hand and repairs them under its Ironclad Guarantee, so that a…
Alternative to buying new outdoor clothing and gear
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Waste, recycling and zero waste
Repair and do it yourself
Second-hand, swapping, lending and sharing
Electronics and home appliances
Work and cooperative economy
Mobility, cars and transport
Neighbourhood, community spaces and local networks
Telecoms: mobile, internet and email
Housing, building and renovation
Clothing and mending
Furniture and furnishing
Leisure, sport and outdoor gear
Office, paper and printing
