The Freecycle Network is a worldwide network of local online gifting communities which enables direct person-to-person gifting locally rather than disposal of items in landfills. The goal is to establish a global online gift economy to promote reuse and provide new homes for items otherwise lacking monetary value. It empowers the more disenfranchised of society: the poor, the elderly, the home-bound with illness, etc. to make a difference in the world and to become philanthropists in their own right. It's beautiful to see and fun to give.

We are currently in over 55 countries and have over 2,3 million members thru www.freecycle.org and are keeping over 200 tons a day in reuse and out of landfills. It’s all grassroots and it’s globally local.

Within each local online community, members make offers of items to one another via a worldwide network of email listservs. As everything is local, relationships are formed between and among individuals, businesses, and nonprofits in each community. Items with a remaining useful life are gifted, with no strings attached, in a free cycle of giving. And, uniquely among Internet relationships, nearly all of these exchanges are accomplished face-to-face.

Freecycle's innovative model has harnessed the community-building power of the Internet like no other organization. Literally thousands of entirely volunteer local moderators are guiding their local groups in over 3,000 cities. Freecycle has very few rules—everything must be free, for instance—and everything possible is left for local groups to decide themselves, further building local community.