Home & Everyday

3M Post-it & Sharpie 🇺🇸 non-EU

Minnesota and Atlanta own the desk drawer.

• STABILO Heroldsberg. The BOSS highlighter is the original. 🇩🇪
• STAEDTLER Nuremberg, 1835. Still makes pencils in Germany. 🇩🇪
• Faber-Castell Stein, family-owned since 1761. 🇩🇪
• LAMY Heidelberg. The Safari fountain pen. 🇩🇪

All-Clad, Lodge & Calphalon 🇺🇸 non-EU

Pans outlive most kitchens. Buy accordingly.

• Le Creuset Fresnoy-le-Grand since 1925. Still cast in the same foundry. 🇫🇷
• Staub Alsace. Enamelled cast iron, now part of Zwilling of Solingen. 🇫🇷
• Demeyere Herentals. Belgian stainless, also under Zwilling. 🇧🇪
• Riess Ybbsitz since 1550, enamel over steel, powered by its own hydro plant. 🇦🇹

Banana Boat & Coppertone 🇺🇸 non-EU

American sun cream.

• NIVEA SUN Beiersdorf, Hamburg. 🇩🇪
• Ladival STADA, Bad Vilbel. German pharmacy standard. 🇩🇪
• La Roche-Posay Anthelios The dermatologist default across Europe. 🇫🇷
• Avène Pierre Fabre, mineral filters for sensitive skin. 🇫🇷

Band-Aid 🇺🇸 non-EU

A brand name that became the word.

• Hansaplast Beiersdorf, Hamburg — and the German word for a plaster. 🇩🇪
• Urgo Dijon, family-owned since 1880. 🇫🇷
• Salvequick Swedish, the Nordic default, part of Orkla. 🇸🇪

Carrier & Trane 🇺🇸 non-EU

American heating and cooling.

• Vaillant Remscheid since 1874, family-owned. 🇩🇪
• NIBE Markaryd. The Nordic ground-source specialist. 🇸🇪
• STIEBEL ELTRON Holzminden, made in Germany. 🇩🇪
• Bosch Home Comfort Stuttgart. 🇩🇪

Casper & Tempur 🇺🇸 non-EU

Bed-in-a-box, American edition.

• Emma Frankfurt. Europe's biggest direct-to-consumer mattress brand. 🇩🇪
• bett1 BODYGUARD Berlin, and repeatedly Stiftung Warentest's top pick. 🇩🇪
• Dormeo Slovenian, sold across central Europe. 🇸🇮
• Hypnia French, made in Europe, 120-night trial. 🇫🇷

Coleman & Yeti 🇺🇸 non-EU

American camping kit.

• Nordisk Danish, since 1901. Cotton tents that outlive their owners. 🇩🇰
• Hilleberg Swedish expedition tents, made in Estonia, near-indestructible. 🇸🇪
• Robens Danish camping, part of Oase Outdoors. 🇩🇰
• Outwell Family camping, same Danish group. 🇩🇰

Colgate & Crest 🇺🇸 non-EU

New York and Cincinnati own your bathroom shelf.

• Lacalut German pharmacy toothpaste, aluminium lactate. 🇩🇪
• Ajona Stuttgart. A concentrate — one tube lasts months. 🇩🇪
• Weleda Swiss, plant-based, no fluoride options. 🇨🇭
• lavera Hanover natural cosmetics, certified organic. 🇩🇪

Cutco, Global & Shun 🇺🇸🇯🇵 non-EU

One knife, used every day, kept for thirty years.

• Wüsthof Solingen since 1814, still family-owned and still forged there. 🇩🇪
• Zwilling Solingen since 1731. One of the oldest trademarks in the world. 🇩🇪
• Victorinox Ibach. The Swiss Army knife company also makes the kitchen knife most professional kitchens actually own. 🇨🇭
• Opinel Savoie since 1890. Beechwood handle, absurdly good value. 🇫🇷

DeWalt, Stanley Black & Decker 🇺🇸 non-EU

American power tools.

• Bosch Professional The blue ones. Stuttgart. 🇩🇪
• Festool Wendlingen. Expensive, and worth it if you do this for a living. 🇩🇪
• Hilti Schaan, Liechtenstein. Construction-grade everything. 🇱🇮
• Einhell Landau. One battery across the whole range. 🇩🇪

Duracell & Energizer 🇺🇸 non-EU

Two American battery brands.

• VARTA Ellwangen, German battery maker since 1887. 🇩🇪
• ANSMANN Assamstadt. Rechargeables and chargers. 🇩🇪
• Jupio Dutch camera and device batteries. 🇳🇱

e.l.f., Fenty Beauty & MAC 🇺🇸 non-EU

Drugstore makeup, mostly European already.

• Catrice Sulzbach. Cosnova's main line, and about a third of the price. 🇩🇪
• essence Same German house as Catrice, aimed younger and cheaper still. 🇩🇪
• KIKO Milano Bergamo. Italian-made, sold from its own shops across Europe. 🇮🇹
• ARTDECO Bavaria, and the refillable palettes. 🇩🇪

First Solar & Jinko Solar 🇺🇸🇨🇳 non-EU

American and Chinese photovoltaics.

• SOLARWATT Dresden. Glass-glass modules, 30-year guarantee. 🇩🇪
• Heckert Solar Chemnitz, making modules in Saxony since 2001. 🇩🇪
• aleo solar Prenzlau, Brandenburg. 🇩🇪

Gillette 🇺🇸 non-EU

The blade cartridge as a business model.

• MÜHLE Saxony since 1945. Safety razors and brushes, made in Germany. 🇩🇪
• Merkur Solingen. The 34C is the safety razor most people start with. 🇩🇪
• Edwin Jagger Sheffield. English razors and brushes. 🇬🇧
• Proraso Florence since 1948. The green tub. 🇮🇹

Graco & Evenflo 🇺🇸 non-EU

American child car seats.

• Britax Römer Ulm. European i-Size seats, tested beyond the regulation. 🇩🇪
• RECARO Kids Italian arm of the German seat maker. 🇮🇹
• Axkid Gothenburg. Rear-facing to 25 kg, the Swedish orthodoxy. 🇸🇪
• Klippan Swedish, also rear-facing specialists. 🇸🇪

Hasbro & Mattel 🇺🇸 non-EU

Rhode Island and California own the toy aisle.

• LEGO Billund, family-owned, and the largest toy company on earth. 🇩🇰
• Playmobil Zirndorf, Bavaria, since 1974. 🇩🇪
• Ravensburger Puzzles and board games since 1883. 🇩🇪
• Schleich Hand-painted figures, Schwäbisch Gmünd. 🇩🇪

Herman Miller & Steelcase 🇺🇸 non-EU

American office seating at American prices.

• Wilkhahn Bad Münder. The ON chair moves in three dimensions. 🇩🇪
• Interstuhl Meßstetten, family-owned, made in the Swabian Alb. 🇩🇪
• Vitra Birsfelden. Holds the European licences for the Eames designs. 🇨🇭
• Kinnarps Swedish, and it delivers its own furniture on its own trucks. 🇸🇪

Hydro Flask & Stanley 🇺🇸 non-EU

American insulated bottles, sold as lifestyle.

• alfi Wertheim since 1914. It made the first vacuum jug. 🇩🇪
• EMSA German flasks and travel mugs, Groupe SEB. 🇩🇪
• 24Bottles Bologna, carbon-neutral, very light. 🇮🇹
• Chilly's London. 🇬🇧

Instant Pot & Crock-Pot 🇺🇸 non-EU

American countertop cooking.

• Krups Solingen, now part of Groupe SEB. 🇩🇪
• Tefal French, the inventor of the non-stick pan, and part of Groupe SEB. 🇫🇷
• WMF Geislingen since 1853, now Groupe SEB. Pressure cookers that outlive their owners. 🇩🇪
• Moulinex French, part of Groupe SEB; the Cookeo is the direct Instant Pot rival. 🇫🇷

iRobot Roomba & Shark 🇺🇸 non-EU

American robot vacuums that map your home.

• Vorwerk Kobold Wuppertal since 1883, sold door to door and repaired for decades. 🇩🇪
• Kärcher Winnenden. The yellow machines, and a robot range. 🇩🇪
• Miele Scout Gütersloh, built to the same twenty-year standard. 🇩🇪
• Rowenta Groupe SEB, France. 🇫🇷

Johnson & Johnson, Neutrogena & Olay 🇺🇸 non-EU

American skincare, in a continent full of pharmacies.

• NIVEA Beiersdorf, Hamburg, 1911. The blue tin. 🇩🇪
• La Roche-Posay French thermal spring water, dermatologist-standard. 🇫🇷
• Avène Pierre Fabre, made at the spring in the Cévennes. 🇫🇷
• Bioderma Lyon. Sensibio micellar water is the category original. 🇫🇷

Kleenex & Charmin 🇺🇸 non-EU

Bought every week, chosen once, never reconsidered.

• Zewa Essity of Stockholm — the same company behind Tempo and Lotus. 🇸🇪
• Tempo German-founded in 1929, Essity-owned, and a generic word in several languages. 🇸🇪
• Lotus The French shelf name, also Essity. 🇸🇪
• Renova Torres Novas. The black toilet paper company, and genuinely independent. 🇵🇹

Kohler, Moen & Delta Faucet 🇺🇸🇩🇪 non-EU

The German tap you would switch to is often American.

• Duravit Hornberg since 1817, still family-controlled. 🇩🇪
• Villeroy & Boch Mettlach since 1748. Ceramics, baths and the tiles too. 🇩🇪
• Geberit Rapperswil-Jona. The cistern behind half of Europe's walls. 🇨🇭
• Roca Barcelona. Family-owned and the largest bathroom maker in Europe. 🇪🇸

Levoit & Honeywell 🇺🇸 non-EU

American air purifiers with proprietary filters.

• Philips Amsterdam-designed, but Philips sold its home appliance business in 2021 — it now trades as Versuni, Dutch-registered and Chinese-owned. 🇳🇱
• Blueair Stockholm, very quiet, Unilever-owned. 🇸🇪
• IDEAL Balingen, made in Germany, HEPA H14. 🇩🇪
• BONECO Swiss air treatment since 1956. 🇨🇭

Listerine 🇺🇸 non-EU

American mouthwash, mostly alcohol.

• Curaprox Swiss, Curasept range, alcohol-free. 🇨🇭
• One Drop Only Berlin since 1950. Concentrate — one bottle lasts a year. 🇩🇪
• Chlorhexamed Haleon, London. The clinical option. 🇬🇧
• Lacalut German pharmacy brand, aluminium lactate. 🇩🇪

Old Spice & Degree 🇺🇸 non-EU

Procter & Gamble and Unilever's American men's aisle.

• NIVEA MEN Beiersdorf, Hamburg. 🇩🇪
• Balea MEN dm's own range — cheap, and consistently well reviewed. 🇩🇪
• Klorane Pierre Fabre, Occitanie. Plant-based, pharmacy-sold. 🇫🇷
• Proraso Florence. Barbershop grooming since 1948. 🇮🇹

Oral-B 🇺🇸 non-EU

The electric toothbrush that came with a subscription to brush heads.

• Philips Sonicare Amsterdam. Sonic rather than oscillating. 🇳🇱
• Curaprox Hydrosonic Swiss, extremely soft filaments. 🇨🇭
• happybrush Munich. Same hardware, far cheaper heads. 🇩🇪
• Emmi-dent German ultrasonic brushes. 🇩🇪

Pantene & Head & Shoulders 🇺🇸 non-EU

Two more Procter & Gamble brands.

• Schwarzkopf Henkel, Düsseldorf, since 1898. 🇩🇪
• alverde dm's certified-natural range. Cheap and repeatedly top-rated. 🇩🇪
• Klorane Pierre Fabre, plant-based, pharmacy-sold. 🇫🇷
• René Furterer French scalp-first haircare. 🇫🇷

Procter & Gamble cleaning brands 🇺🇸🇧🇪 non-EU

Ariel, Fairy, Lenor, Flash — one Cincinnati company.

• Henkel (Persil) Düsseldorf since 1876. Persil, Pril, Somat, Bref. 🇩🇪
• Frosch Werner & Mertz, Mainz. Recycled bottles, plant-based surfactants. 🇩🇪
• Sonett Baden-Württemberg, fully biodegradable, no enzymes. 🇩🇪
• L'Arbre Vert French ecolabel cleaning at supermarket prices. 🇫🇷

Scotts Miracle-Gro 🇺🇸 non-EU

American lawn chemistry.

• COMPO Münster. The European garden centre standard. 🇩🇪
• Neudorff Emmerthal. Organic plant care since 1854. 🇩🇪
• Oscorna Ulm, purely organic fertilisers. 🇩🇪
• Cuxin DCM German-Belgian organic mineral fertilisers. 🇩🇪

Shark, Bissell & Hoover 🇺🇸 non-EU

Suction is a solved problem. Longevity is not.

• Miele Gütersloh, family-owned, and tested to twenty years of use. 🇩🇪
• Kärcher Winnenden. Wet-and-dry, and the parts are always available. 🇩🇪
• Nilfisk Copenhagen since 1906, professional and domestic. 🇩🇰
• Numatic (Henry) Somerset. The smiling one, effectively immortal, repaired with a screwdriver. 🇬🇧

Sherwin-Williams & Behr 🇺🇸 non-EU

American paint.

• Caparol DAW, Ober-Ramstadt. Europe's largest private paint maker. 🇩🇪
• Alpina Same group, the German DIY default. 🇩🇪
• Farrow & Ball Dorset. The colour names are half the product. 🇬🇧
• Little Greene Manchester, historic English colours. 🇬🇧

Tampax & Always 🇺🇸 non-EU

Two Procter & Gamble brands, one aisle.

• einhorn Berlin, organic cotton, and unusually funny packaging. 🇩🇪
• The Female Company Stuttgart, organic cotton, plastic-free — part of einhorn. 🇩🇪
• Natracare Bristol since 1989 — the original organic option. 🇬🇧
• Organyc Bologna, 100% certified organic cotton. 🇮🇹

Tupperware & Ziploc 🇺🇸 non-EU

American food storage.

• Brabantia Dutch since 1919, 10-year guarantees. 🇳🇱
• Mepal Lochem, Netherlands. Lunchboxes that survive schoolbags. 🇳🇱
• EMSA German, part of Groupe SEB. 🇩🇪
• Rosti Danish, the Margrethe bowl is a design classic. 🇩🇰

Wayfair & Ashley Furniture 🇺🇸 non-EU

American furniture retail, shipped a long way.

• IKEA Älmhult, Sweden. You already know. 🇸🇪
• JYSK Danish, 3,000 stores across Europe. 🇩🇰
• home24 Berlin online furniture. 🇩🇪
• HAY Copenhagen design at reachable prices. MillerKnoll — Herman Miller — holds a significant stake. 🇩🇰

Weber 🇺🇸 non-EU

The kettle barbecue, from Illinois.

• LANDMANN Osterholz-Scharmbeck since 1966. 🇩🇪
• Outdoorchef Swiss, and the funnel design genuinely stops flare-ups. 🇨🇭
• RÖSLE Marktoberdorf. Stainless steel, made to last. 🇩🇪
• höfats Allgäu design studio; the Cube and Bowl are award winners. 🇩🇪

Whirlpool & KitchenAid 🇺🇸 non-EU

Michigan white goods.

• Miele Gütersloh, family-owned, tested to twenty years. 🇩🇪
• Bosch Stuttgart. The European default. 🇩🇪
• Siemens Same group as Bosch, different styling. 🇩🇪
• Smeg Guastalla, Emilia-Romagna. The pastel fridges. 🇮🇹

Yankee Candle & Bath & Body Works 🇺🇸 non-EU

American scented candles, in paraffin.

• ipuro German home fragrance, widely stocked and inexpensive. 🇩🇪
• Diptyque Paris, boulevard Saint-Germain, since 1961. 🇫🇷
• Cire Trudon Founded 1643. It supplied candles to Versailles. 🇫🇷
• Millefiori Milano Milan diffusers and candles. 🇮🇹