Common Unity
Common Unity Project Aotearoa is a Wellington-region community non-profit that operates community programs (Sew Good Collective, Beeple Honey Collective, Urban Kai Farms, Compost and Mulchery) and sells handmade, recycled-material goods and local food products through a Shopify online store and The ReMakery Koha Cafe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersLower Hutt, New Zealand
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Common Unity does
Common Unity Project Aotearoa is a community-led, non-profit organization headquartered in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, operating in the Wellington region (Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui). It began as a community māra kai (food garden) at a local kura (school) over ten years ago and has since expanded into a portfolio of community programs centred on The ReMakery site at 310 Waiwhetu Road, Fairfield. Its stated mission is to connect and empower the community through creativity, sustainability, and kai (food). Governance rests with a volunteer Board of Trustees that includes representation from local iwi (Waiwhetu Marae, Te Runanganui o Te Atiawa), Hutt City Council, and senior commercial executives in investment, digital, and chartered accounting disciplines.
The commercial surface is a Shopify-powered online store (Common Unity Shop, commonunityproject.org.nz) selling handmade goods across collections: Clothing (wool and crochet vests, baby apparel), Home (aprons, wool hot water bottle covers, beeswax wraps), and Grocery (jams, chutneys, Beeple honey). Products are made by community collectives — the Sew Good Collective for textiles and the Beeple Honey Collective for honey — using recycled materials where applicable. The ReMakery Koha Cafe and Kitchen provides a physical community hub and secondary retail touchpoint. All sales are one-time purchases transacted in NZD at unit prices between NZD $7 and NZD $99; Visa and Mastercard are the disclosed payment methods; donations are accepted separately.
The business model is a hybrid of community non-profit and direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Revenue streams are product sales (handmade goods) and donations, with no subscription, recurring, or wholesale channels disclosed. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the Shopify storefront, supplemented by community-led growth through volunteer programs, the Koha Cafe, and grassroots engagement in Wellington. Technology is limited to Shopify and an email newsletter; there is no API, mobile app, or proprietary software layer. No external funding rounds, M&A activity, patents, or third-party investor backing have been disclosed.
Common Unity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Common Unity
- Legal name
- Common Unity Shop
- Website
- https://commonunityproject.org.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Common Unity Project Aotearoa is a Wellington-region community non-profit that operates community programs (Sew Good Collective, Beeple Honey Collective, Urban Kai Farms, Compost and Mulchery) and sells handmade, recycled-material goods and local food products through a Shopify online store and The ReMakery Koha Cafe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Common Unity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Handmade Sustainable Goods
- NAICS
- Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159), Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Retailers (459130), Home Furnishings Retailers (44912)
- SIC
- Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Canned, Fruits, Veg, Preserves, Jams & Jellies (2033)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sustainable / Ethical Apparel & Accessories Wholesale (CRAOADAJ)
Keywords
Where Common Unity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lower Hutt
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Common Unity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Product Sales - Handmade Goods: E-commerce sales of handmade clothing, accessories, and home goods made from recycled materials. Products include wool vests, crochet items, bags, aprons, and beeswax wraps.
- Product Sales - Food Items: Sales of locally produced food products including jams, chutneys, and honey from the Beeple honey collective.
- Donations: Community donations to support the nonprofit mission of connecting and empowering communities through creativity and sustainability.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Handmade Clothing - Wool/Crochet Vests |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Handmade Accessories |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Home Goods |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Food Products - Jams and Chutneys |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Common Unity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Common Unity Project Aotearoa operates a Shopify-powered online store selling handmade clothing, accessories, home goods and locally produced food items (jams, chutneys, honey) crafted by community collectives from 100% recycled materials. Alongside retail sales, it runs community programs including the ReMakery Koha Cafe and Kitchen, Sew Good Collective, Beeple Honey Collective, Urban Kai Farms, and Compost and Mulchery in the Wellington region of New Zealand.
Product overview
Common Unity Project Aotearoa operates as a community-powered organization connecting and empowering communities through creativity, sustainability, and kai (food). The offering consists of a retail e-commerce store powered by Shopify selling handmade goods across four main product lines: Clothing (vests, crochet items, baby items), Home goods (aprons, hot water bottle covers, beeswax wraps), and Grocery (feijoa products, jams, honey). Products are made by community collectives including the Sew Good Collective (sewing) and Beeple Honey Collective (beekeeping). The organization also runs physical community projects including the ReMakery Koha Cafe and Kitchen, Urban Kai Farms, and Compost and Mulch operations, serving communities throughout Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui, New Zealand.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Clothing Collection
Companies that use Common Unity
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Common Unity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Common Unity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ShopifycoreShopify powers the Common Unity e-commerce store, providing the platform infrastructure for online sales, payment processing, and order management. The privacy policy explicitly references Shopify's privacy policy and consumer privacy policy for data processing related to the online store.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Common Unity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Allbirds: New Zealand-origin sustainable apparel/footwear brand selling globally via DTC e-commerce. Comparable on NZ provenance, sustainability positioning, recycled/natural material sourcing, and DTC Shopify-style distribution — though at vastly greater scale and scope.
- The Body Shop: Long-established social-enterprise beauty/retail brand with ethical sourcing and community-trade supply chains. Comparable as a values-driven, ethical-sourcing retailer that monetizes mission through product sales; differs in product category and scale.
- EcoStore: Established NZ brand producing and retailing eco-friendly household and personal care products. Comparable on the sustainability-and-local provenance axis and on selling through NZ retail/e-commerce channels, though at significantly larger scale and with a different product mix.
- Patagonia: Global sustainable apparel and outdoor goods brand with strong recycled-materials credentials. Comparable on the recycled-fabric, sustainability-led DTC positioning; differs in scale, geography, and product category breadth.
Others
- Buy Nothing Project: Global community-based gifting and reuse network. Comparable on the community-empowerment and material-reuse ethos underpinning Common Unity's recycled-material products, though it operates as a sharing platform rather than a retail operation.
- Forest & Bird: New Zealand conservation nonprofit with overlapping community-volunteer infrastructure and donor base. Comparable as a NZ mission-driven nonprofit with a volunteer governance model; differs in that it sells conservation membership rather than handmade goods.
- Etsy: Global online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. Comparable as the dominant marketplace channel for the kind of small-batch handmade apparel, accessories, and home goods Common Unity produces, though Common Unity sells via its own Shopify storefront.
Regional players
- Keep Cup: New Zealand-origin reusable-products brand with strong sustainability positioning and DTC distribution. Comparable as a NZ-based sustainable goods brand using similar channels (Shopify DTC) and emphasizing reusable/circular design; differs in product category.
Direct peers
- Trade Aid: New Zealand-based nonprofit fair trade retailer selling ethically sourced apparel, home goods, and food across multiple store locations. Closest analogue: similar nonprofit/DTC retail model, ethical supply chain positioning, and multi-category handmade/sustainable product range.
Emerging players
- Auckland Community Fruit & Vege Co-op: NZ community-led cooperative producing and distributing local food. Comparable on the community-organization model, local-food production angle (akin to Urban Kai Farms and Beeple Honey), and grassroots kaupapa, though focused on produce rather than crafts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Common Unity social profiles
Digital presenceCommon Unity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Common Unity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Common Unity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Common Unity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Common Unity
What does Common Unity do?
Common Unity Project Aotearoa operates a Shopify-powered online store selling handmade clothing, accessories, home goods and locally produced food items (jams, chutneys, honey) crafted by community collectives from 100% recycled materials. Alongside retail sales, it runs community programs including the ReMakery Koha Cafe and Kitchen, Sew Good Collective, Beeple Honey Collective, Urban Kai Farms, and Compost and Mulchery in the Wellington region of New Zealand.
Is Common Unity a public or private company?
Common Unity is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Common Unity founded?
Common Unity was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Common Unity based?
Common Unity is headquartered in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Common Unity make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Product Sales - Handmade Goods are the primary driver. The others are product Sales - Food Items and donations.
Who are Common Unity's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Allbirds, The Body Shop, EcoStore and Patagonia. Others are Buy Nothing Project, Forest & Bird and Etsy. Keep Cup is listed as a regional player. Trade Aid is listed as a direct peer. Auckland Community Fruit & Vege Co-op is listed as an emerging player.
Does Common Unity have an API?
No public API is recorded for Common Unity.
What industry is Common Unity in?
Common Unity's product category is Handmade Sustainable Goods. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAL, Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support), with a secondary code of CRAOADAJ, Sustainable / Ethical Apparel & Accessories Wholesale. Its NAICS code is 3159 and its SIC code is 5600.