Some of Aotearoa’s best-known artists and designers are joining forces to help thousands of tamariki experience the joy of Christmas, with the return of the Kindness Collective’s Wear Kindness campaign.
Eight creatives have produced limited-edition T-shirts for the 2026 campaign, including Waiapu Road, Vince Ropitini, Hine, Otis Frizzell and Ema Frost, alongside returning designs from Kiri Nathan and Juliette Hogan. The campaign is fronted by Dame Lisa Carrington, Brook Ruscoe, Tegan Yorwarth and Bella Kalolo.
Proceeds will support the Christmas Joy Store, a social toy store that allows parents and caregivers experiencing hardship to choose Christmas presents for their children free of charge, putting dignity and choice at the centre of the kaupapa.
Last year the Joy Store delivered more than 59,000 presents to 24,963 children across Aotearoa, with more than 1,200 volunteers helping make the programme possible.
Manaakitanga is also woven through several of this year’s designs. Waiapu Road’s Aro Ki Te Pā draws on whānau, belonging, sharing kai and caring for one another, while Vince Ropitini’s design features five hand-painted feathers alongside the whakataukī Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu, representing the helping hand that enables others to soar.
The limited-edition shirts cost $70 and are available for pre-sale from September 23 until November 5, with profits going to the Kindness Collective’s work supporting families this Christmas.
The charity says its wider programmes now support more than 130,000 people experiencing poverty each year, with more than $30 million in assistance provided to families since the organisation was established.
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