Freecycle.org and Similar Reuse-Gifting Sites

Freecycle is a site that is similar to Craigslist since it’s a platform where givers are connected with receivers of used items. This could be described as “reuse gifting”. However, freecycle was created for a different purpose than Craigslist. Craigslist is a classified ads website that happens to have a “free” section, among other sections that are appropriate for classified ads. Read more about Craigslist. Normally it’s a challenge to find a site like Craigslist where you can actually get free stuff, because most sites that try to offer the service do not gain enough popularity for reuse gifting to take place. Freecycle was able to grow by initially using email (which is free), and then using Yahoo! groups, (which is also free). They were made popular through Yahoo!’s Earth Day shortly after their initial creation.

About Freecycle & reuse Gifting

Freecycle was created for the purpose of saving the planet, since giving away re-usable items reduces waste. The founder, Deron Beal, created the organization because he saw that useful items were being thrown away. Large items, like furniture and bikes, would be thrown away because the people getting rid of them didn’t know anyone to give them to. And these large, useful items were taking up space in landfills. Now that Freecycle is available, if someone buys a new table for their kitchen, they should have no excuse for dumping their old table in the garbage. Someone, somewhere can use it and there is a way to connect with them.

According to their home page, this is what Freecycle is all about:

“The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,305 groups with 9,113,409 members around the world, and next door to you. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and neighborhoods. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers (them’s good people). Membership is free.”

Here is another description from their wiki:

“Freecycle aims to keep items out of landfills by providing an internet listings service to help people give unwanted items to someone else for free in their own community. Keeping stuff out of landfills helps build a sustainable future, is good for the environment and builds local and world communities.”

People give away items on sites like Freecycle to de-clutter their homes, help a neighbor, and protect the environment. Giving away re-usable items can be called “reuse gifting’. Since the Freecycle platform is completely free and the items given away on freecycle are free, that means that any of the free stuff that you get on Freecycle is actually free.

Other Reuse Gifting Sites Similar To Freecycle

Since the advent of Craigslist and Freecycle, there are a number of other websites that have popped up to offer the same service. Finding free stuff on these sites is not as common since it’s a challenge to gain the sample popularity. The more a popular a site is, the more likely people will be familiar with it, and think to use it to give and get free items. Over the years, many of these sites have gone offline or out of business and others pop up to take their place. Whenever these sites are discovered, they will be added to the Community Freebies directory if they demonstrate that they have enough users who give and get free items.

Mobile apps are an alternate method of building reuse gifting communities since the community grows as the app is downloaded on more and more mobile devices. In some hyperlocal places, a particular app or website could be even more popular than Craigslist or Freecycle. These resources will be listed in the Local Freebies Directory.

Do you know of any resources that are similar to Freecycle or Craigslist? Let us know.