Several websites and apps have been made for enabling consumers and organizations avoid U.S. products more easily. On reddit, the group “r/BuyFromEU” has around 200,000 members as of April 2025.On the subreddit, for example practical guides listing alternative European products are being shared. The website “Go European” launched by volunteers in February aims to make it easy to see which products are largely from the U.S. and which alternatives to these exist. The similar website European Alternatives launched in 2021 has seen a surge of users. The mobile app and browser extension “BuyEuropean” makes it easy for consumers to find out the exact origin of products and also shows relevant European alternatives when scanning or looking up products.
It’s ironic how people on r/buyfromeu claim it’s a bad idea to move to Lemmy as “it would diminish the visibility of the message” thus fulfilling the self-prophecy of being stuck on corporate American social media.
I think the idea that we need lots of people on these social media sites is a myth. Just a few 1,000 people is enough for a functional forum site, and you probably just need 5-10 active users to make a subreddit or Lemmy community viable.