What do you want to replace?
The directory, sorted by the thing you use today. Every entry has been through the same checklist.
Email services31 alternatives- Search engines10 alternatives
- Browsers8 alternatives
- Messaging13 alternatives
- Social media19 alternatives
- File sharing17 alternatives
- Streaming services11 alternatives
- Smartphones9 alternatives
- Office12 alternatives
- Team collaboration17 alternatives
- Books45 alternatives
- Films & Talks33 alternatives
- All 43 categories
Popular guides
Where most readers start. Each guide says when we last checked it and what changed.
Ethical alternatives to Gmail
Independent guide to Gmail alternatives: who owns each ethical email provider, how it makes money, which have free plans, and the trade-offs.
Ethical alternatives to Facebook
Independent guide to Facebook alternatives for friends, groups, events, Marketplace and messaging: who owns each one, how it makes money, the trade-offs.
Why is IKEA so cheap?
Bulk buying, flat packs, DIY assembly and a tight grip on its supply chain keep IKEA cheap. Here's how it works, and what it costs forests and the climate.
Sustainable pens and pencils
Sustainable pens, pencils and highlighters by job: refillable first, who owns each brand, checked FSC and B Corp claims, and what to do with old pens.
GDP Alternatives: 7 Ways to Measure a Country’s Wealth
Economists and politicians across the globe use Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the ultimate yardstick for measuring and ranking countries’ wealth. But as more and more economists begin…
- All guides
What is ethical anyway?
We know “ethical” isn’t an objective word: it means different things to different people. For us, it means moving towards less harm to other people, animals and the planet. Six principles from our manifesto shape every page here.
- InterbeingEvery choice ripples out to real people, animals and places. We try to show the ripple.
- Mindful consumptionOne step at a time. We never ask for all or nothing.
- Compassionate actionWe describe what a company did and cite it. We don’t shame the people who use it.
- Loving speechWe say the trade-off out loud, and we say what we don’t know.
- Beloved communityWe’re on the same path as you, compromises included.
- ContinuationEvery page shows when it was last checked and what changed.
From the magazine
Essays on living with less harm, by people who’ve tried it themselves.
Mindfulness and Ethics: Cultivating the Why Before the What
In the late 19th century, a British civil servant named Thomas William Rhys Davids found himself adjudicating Buddhist clerical disputes. In order to immerse himself within these issues,…
Befriending Eco-Anxiety: A Practice of Deep Adaptation
Walking along stretches of beach in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a city of five million people, trash is everywhere: plastic bottles, straws and bags, styrofoam, the lone flip flop,…
Arne Næss: Good living according to deep ecology
These days, we have the option to offset our carbon, recycle our waste, buy ethically, and build sustainably. At least in theory. But consumerist society is adapting to…
Know an alternative we’ve missed?
Tell us, and we’ll put it through the same checklist as everything else we list. Spotted something out of date? That counts too.