🙏 48 Gift Ideas For Fellow Sh*tgivers

Happy Holidays, Shit Givers!

And a very special Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate.

We’re post-Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, it's technically Cyber Monday but it's not quite Giving Tuesday, though the End Times could clearly come at ANYTIME — so it feels like a great moment to debut INI’s first Holiday Gift Guide!

Inside, you'll find some incredible gift ideas from yours truly, from impactful NGO's to white noise machines and coffee. 

Note: I’m not super into buying “stuff” just to have it, because, well, look at what we did to the supply chain and the ocean etc. But there’s some real-world items here I cherish and genuinely rely on every day and others I delight gifting to friends and family.

Lastly, I've tried to avoid Amazon where I can, but alas, there's a couple items that require it.

Please enjoy!

Quinn

1. INI merchandise. Everything in the store is 50% off through the end of the year. Do you need another t-shirt, coffee mug, sticker, or hoodie? Of course not. But every time you rock one of these, it starts a conversation, more Shit Givers find a home, and we take more Action Steps — together.

2. INI Book Club. Every guest book recommendation from 120+ episodes is up on Bookshop. Some essential reads for anyone. Related: Here's the books that have influenced me the most over time and my favorite books from 2021. 

3. Brightland. You’ve never had olive oil, vinegars, or honey like this. Support small farms and famers in an increasingly tough climate. Use code INI at Brightland to get 10% off anything you buy through 2021. 

4. Burlap and Barrel. Incredible tasting, ethically-sourced spices. Excellent stocking stuffers. 

5. Diaspora. Female and POC led, Diaspora offers 30 single origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka.

6. Evergreen Action (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Wrote the comprehensive roadmap for a national decarbonization and electrification mobilization. Donate in someone's name this season.

7. Clean Air Task Force (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Air pollution kills 10 million people a year across the globe. Nobody’s more effective in drafting and implementing pollution regulations.

8. Carbon180. Policy advocacy focused on accelerating the development of carbon removal tech. It’s early, it’s a question mark, but we need all the juice we can get.

9. Run for Something. Supporting progressive young local legislators is 1) the best bang for your buck and 2) the most effective way for us to rebuild democracy from the ground up.

10. Feeding America (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Millions of Americans are food insecure. Help feed them.

11. Hot Bread Kitchen (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Uses food to provide social services, skills coaching, job placement and entrepreneurship programming to immigrant women.

12. Give Directly (501(c)(3) nonprofit). The most effective way to reduce global poverty is to just give people money. Nobody does it better than GD.

14. World Central Kitchen (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Disaster response is a part of our lives and Jose Andres’s WCK is impossibly everywhere, all the time. Feed the people when they need it the most.

14. Black Girls Code (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Building pathways for young women of color by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology. I’ve supported them for years. 

15. Who Gives A Crap toilet paper. Don’t buy toilet paper that’s cut from old growth forests. Who Gives A Crap is sustainable, gives back, and feels amazing. Gifted to everyone I know 2 years ago. 

16. The 19th. Give a subscription to the 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, and policy.

17. Patagonia Provisions. Crazy flavorful, nutritious foods that restore, rather than deplete, our planet. Love gifting any of these gift boxes to folks.

18. This Patagonia backpack. Many of our guests have replied that their best "me time" is time in nature. I have taken this pack to the ends of the earth over the years and can’t recommend it enough.

19. Running FlipBelt. The best answer to “What do I do with my phone when I run?" I use it every day.

20. Against Malaria (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Probably the most effective NGO on the planet. Mosquitos are the worst.

21. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (501(c)(3) nonprofit). Fuck cancer, but especially fuck kids cancer. Alex’s provides funding for cutting edge research and trials, and travel expenses for families.

22. Allbirds. Newly public Allbirds makes sustainable and crazy comfortable shoes and clothes.

23. BeautyCounter. The cosmetics industry hasn’t been regulated since 1938. BeautyCounter makes great beauty products for women and men without all the bullshit in it. 

24. Avocado Mattresses. Sleep is my everything. I turn out every light in the house at like 6:30 PM. I sleep in a freezing pitch-black cave. Avocado's business is sustainable and the mattresses and pillows are organic and super comfortable. 1% for the Planet compatriots. 

25. Prana pants.  I wear these "trail to office" pants every day, zero exaggeration.

26. TheRealReal. My wife’s new favorite used clothes shopping thing. Spice up your wardrobe at a huge discount (or sell your own stuff!) and count a huge win for the planet.

27. Cometeer. Incredible subscription coffee, flash frozen, totally recyclable pods.

28. Headspace. Been around forever, still my go-to every day for mental clarity.

29. Readwise. $8. An essential tool in my learning arsenal. Makes it dead-easy to revisit and learn from ebook & article highlights and more.

30. This quality air purifier. Air quality inside and outside are more gnarly than we think and this device has been the highest rated for a few years running. We’ve got a bunch of them scattered around the house (and donated some to our kids schools, too).

31. The Order of Time. This tiny little book will blow your mind. Reality is not what you think it is (as far as we know).

32. HEATED newsletter. Emily Atkins' climate journalism is second to none. Essential for the revolution.

33. Popular Information newsletter. Judd Legum was the founder and editor of ThinkProgress and his crusading, fact-based journalism shines a brutally transparent light on the actors influencing every aspect of our democracy.

34. Highland 2. The best writing experience I’ve ever had. I use it for everything from INI to books to screenplays. The Mac App Store doesn't let you gift specific apps, so just get a gift card and send with a note of encouragement.

35. Fantastical. Still my favorite calendar app for the Mac.

36. 1Password. Use it to change all of your passwords to 32 character silliness and then use it to store them in a vault. Please just do this.

37. Atlas Obscura adult and kids books. All the places you’ll go, in vivid pictures and prose. Perfect for the current moment.

38. Libro.fm. I’ve been trying to escape from Amazon for years, but needed my audiobooks. Libro’s been a delightful change from Audible.

39. Juniper Books. Look, the next two picks are DANGEROUS. Consider yourself warned. Find and gift GORGEOUS re-designs of classic hardcover books.

40. Folio Society. Timeless and sometimes truly breathtaking redesigns of classic and new hardcovers. Again: Danger danger danger. I have 39 editions in my basket at all times.

41. Baseball 100. The stories behind baseball’s all-time best, from perhaps the most evocative sports writer on the planet. Not just for fans 

42. Skratch Labs workout powder. A far cleaner version of Gatorade. I use it for training every day.

43. Jump rope. The easiest, cheapest workout you can get.

44. Kiva Camino Midnight Blueberry. These sleep weed gummies got me through the pandemic (so far). Maybe my most essential tool in the fight against climate change. Availability is obviously limited state by state.

45. Hedley & Bennett aprons and masks. Made in LA. Been wearing both every day for a couple years now.

46. Stasher bags. Plastic bags are inexcusable at this point, folks.

47. The OG white noise machine. Every night.

48. TaskRabbit gift card. I’ve probably used TaskRabbit a gazillion times. Support local independent workers and get the job done right.

If you've got any other recommendations, share them with us on Twitter!

- Quinn