The Non-Toxic Gift Guide
For all your holiday shopping needs
It’s the holiday season, and we at Non-Toxic are grateful for our friends, family, and of course you, our readers and listeners.
To say thanks, we’ve put together a little gift guide for all your festive needs. Even though Black Friday is bullshit and overconsumption is destroying our planet, we’re not total Grinches.
First, we gotta plug our homies at Bluecorn Candles. They’ve been making candles by hand in Colorado since 1991, made from pure beeswax and offered in seemingly every form you could want, from pillars, tapers, and tea lights to votives and container candles.
For Black Friday, they’ve got some of their best-selling products at the deepest discounts they offer all year – up to 30% off. Not sure if you can stack our code on top, but if you’re ordering for the first time, you can try using NonToxic20 to get 20% off your first order.
Our guests on Non-Toxic have been making some amazing things. Why not get a gift from your favorite interview subject?
Non-Toxic vibes
Check out this poster from artist and filmmaker Richard Mosse, who talked to Non-Toxic about his exhibition and film, Broken Spectre. One side shows Mosse’s aerial image Palm Plantation, Pará, 2021. On the verso is a selection of stills from the film, accompanied by Adneia Yanomami’s impassioned message from the piece. You can also buy much fancier prints of Richard’s work on Artsy.
We also love the new album, Stankface Standing Soldier from our Season 2 guest Mato Wayuhi. Or how about a poster for the film How to Blow Up a Pipeline, directed by Season 1 guest Daniel Goldhaber? While it won’t actually teach you how to make your own explosives to destroy fossil fuel infrastructure, it will provide some inspiration.
Turn a new page in 2025
If your friends and family are big readers, here are some books written by Non-Toxic guests you might want to put under the tree or beside the Chanukah menorah:
Nathaniel Rich’s Losing Earth is a bracing history of the 1980s, when scientists, politicians, and policy-makers were all in agreement that something had to be done to lower carbon emissions—and how at the crucial moment—they failed to act.
Author and professor Eric Dean Wilson’s After Cooling: On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort can help you remember those warmer months, and how stupid we are for designing the world around air-conditioning.
Or how about the investigation of global far-right efforts to roll back abortion rights, Bodies Under Siege, by journalist and author Sian Norris? Perfect for the Krampus in your life.
And if you liked my conversation with sustainable fashion expert, Alec Leach, consider picking up his excellent book, The World Is On Fire But We’re Still Buying Shoes. As a former fashion editor, Alec has spent a large part of his career understanding how men in particular are convinced, persuaded, and tricked into buying things they don't really need—but you should still buy his book.
Get off the beaten path
We at Non-Toxic are big fans of Paka. Founded in Peru, their mission is to create natural, all-purpose clothing for people who love the outdoors, using alpaca fiber and other materials that are healthier for people and the planet than synthetics. Pick up their sock pack, made from sustainably sourced (you guessed it) alpaca—there’s a reason Peruvians call it “the fiber of the gods.”
We’re also big fans of the outdoor brand Paramo, who have been making PFAS-free waterproof gear since the company was founded by Nick Brown (who I interviewed for GQ). He’s also the founder of Nikwax, who make my personal favorite products for waterproofing shoes and gear.
Stay cozy
If your loved ones are more indoor cats, we suggest vintage Scottish cashmere. It’s wayyyyy better quality than the new stuff you’ll find in Uniqlo (and it doesn’t contribute to the desertification of Tibet). Check out what’s on ebay. Or if you’re trying not to buy anything at all, have your loved one’s favorite sweater mended, resole their shoes, or get them a DIY repair kit for their old jeans.
Give the gift of Non-Toxic
And if you’re still not sure what to get your friends and loved ones, why not consider a Patreon subscription to this very podcast. And how about a limited edition, ultra-rare Non-Toxic T-shirt? Nothing says festive cheer like a podcast about men burning the world.
Happy holidays,
Daniel and Andrew