A guide to NZ’s best Good gifts
By Janisha Nathu
At The Good Registry, we’re all about making every gift count. Often that means not giving a ‘thing’, and giving donations to good causes instead (which is super easy on our website!). But we know that sometimes you’ll still want a good thing that you can wrap in a bow ... using recycled ribbon and paper we hope!
We’ve been doing some thinking about Good gifts — and come up with our own guide for NZ gifts that are simple, sustainable and kind.
So if you want to give something good (maybe alongside a Good Gift Card from The Good Registry), here are our top picks!
Kind Bottles
If the person you’re buying for doesn’t have an insulated stainless-steel drink bottle yet, the Kind Bottle is perfect! They’ll only ever need one and $1 of every bottle sold is donated to Sustainable Coastlines (they’re one of our charity partners at The Good Registry too!).
Zerobag
If drink bottles don’t tickle your fancy, how about a reusable fold-out market bag? Zerobag comes in a variety of colours and is made of either upcycled parachutes or recycled plastic bottles. And a portion of every sale also goes to Sustainable Coastlines.
Ethique
Moving out of bottles and bags, think self-care. Ethique offers a large range of solid bars for almost everything — from hair to face to body. They also sell compostable in-shower containers to keep the shampoo and conditioner bars clean and tidy. Giving up the bottle has never been so easy, and neither has giving, as 20% of all proceeds go towards charities that fight for the protection of our planet.
Nectar
Staying in the realm of self-care, Nectar provides a range of products for the human body, the home and even the family dog! Not only does it provide eco-friendly products at an affordable price, but if you spend more than $20 at once, $1 will be donated to the NZ Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Now there’s a Good buzz!
https://www.nectarbodyandbath.com/
Indigo & Iris
Moving into beauty, who doesn’t love a good mascara. Indigo & Iris don’t just make an incredible cruelty-free, vegan mascara, but it also helps to end unavoidable blindness in the Pacific Islands. How? Well, 50% of the profits go to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ.
Wā Collective
Let’s talk periods. The Wā Collective aims to end “period poverty, period waste and the period taboo” through their product, the Wā Cup. By purchasing an ethically created, sustainable and zero-waste menstrual cup, you will help provide subsidised cups for students, as well as free cups for Women’s Health Collectives. And yes, we reckon giving the gift of a Wā Cup is a totally un-taboo thing to do!
Dripped With Honey
Earrings anyone? Dripped With Honey provides gorgeous clay earrings that are handmade in Wellington — AND 10% of profits go towards supporting migrant women in NZ through Shakti International.
https://www.drippedwithhoney.com/
Make, Give, Live
Onto a winter favourite, beanies! Make, Give, Live produces knitted beanies for all ages, and with each one sold, another is given away to a Kiwi in need. Their purpose is to create connections through crafting, ease isolation, and improve mental health and wellbeing. Make, Give, Live supports Age Concern NZ (a partner charity of The Good Registry), I Got Your Back Pack, Give a Kid a Blanket, and Lifewise.
The Cookie Project
Who doesn’t love a sweet treat! The Cookie Project is a group of people with disabilities who are receiving paid work experience by baking cookies. With options of butter, chocolate chip, peanut butter, and limited edition flavours, The Cookie Project offers a no-waste delightful gift that can be delivered across the country.
https://thecookieprojectnz.com/
Charity Tea
Want to gift something that nourishes not only yourself, but children as well? Charity Tea offers a wide range of organic loose-leaf teas, available in sustainable containers and paper refill bags, as well as gift cards of allocated amounts. With an aim of nourishing children in New Zealand and Haiti, all the profits from the sales of Charity Tea support the Kai Kitchen Trust (NZ) and the Little Footprints, Big Steps charity (Haiti).
Some other Good ideas
- Nisa (underwear made by former refugee women) — https://nisa.co.nz/
- Sew Good Cooperative (an enterprise through The Common Unity Project that sells ethically made and sustainably sourced reusable bags, among other good things) — https://www.commonunityproject.org.nz/sew-good-cooperative
- Honeywrap (reusable food wrap and other products) — https://www.honeywrap.co.nz/
- Tahi Skincare (nourishing oils for your skin, made from plants) — https://tahiskincare.com/
About The Good Registry
The Good Registry is a social giving platform where anyone from small kids to big corporates can give the gift of giving with charitable donations instead of unwanted gifts.
The Good Registry isn’t anti-gifts — we’re just helping to make giving more simple, sustainable and kind.
We have created two simple ways to give through our website:
- Create your own Good Gift Registry for a special event (e.g. a wedding or a birthday) and ask friends to donate to a charity you choose, instead of buying gifts.
- Give Good Gift Cards instead of traditional gifts, to enable others to make donations to charities they care about.
