What if the best gift is nothing at all?

The Netherlands is one of the richest countries in the world. So it comes as no surprise that the answer to the question ‘what do you want for Christmas?’ is nine out of ten times: “nothing”, or in Dutch: Niks.

That’s why we designed the ideal gift for everyone who already has ‘everything’: nothing. Meaning, a nice box that literally has nothing in it. It’s a symbolic gift, and the money earned is well spent: Greenpeace makes sure that nothing more is cut from the Amazon, nothing is drilled at the North Pole, and nothing toxic is discharged into the ocean. A win-win for both giver and gifted. And it even fits through the mailbox.

Most sustainability messages ask you to give something up. NIKS does the opposite: you get nothing, and it feels like winning.

“Nothing” usually ends a conversation. Here it starts one. It’s the perfect gift for everyone who wants less stuff but still likes getting a gift. And it’s a light way to ask whether we really need more, without raising a single finger. No guilt, no lecture. Just an idea that turns giving less into a gift in itself.

Nothing can be a lot

How did we get the idea? We went out on the streets, asking people what they wanted for Christmas, and filmed their answers. Turns out “nothing” was answered the most.

A store full of nothing

We opened a pop-up store for people who wanted nothing. An almost-empty space where the shelves held… well, nothing — and where you could still walk out with a gift. Building it was next to nothing: we reused materials throughout, which is easy enough when there’s nothing to put on display.

3x NIKS

Nothing came in sizes. Seven of them, from helemaal niks (a whole lot of nothing) to 3x niks (three times nothing) — the bigger the nothing, the more goes to Greenpeace. You can still order nothing at Greenpeace.

Nothing at all
(écht NIKS, €…)

——————————
Not even a box with nothing in it, but really nothing at all. Nothing at all starts at 0 euros, but you’re free to donate as much as you like.

Almost nothing is
(bijna NIKS, €15)

——————————
A 19 x 11 cm box with nothing in it. Our smallest version, but the gesture stays huge.

Just nothing
(gewoon NIKS, €25)

——————————
The ideal gift for people who already have everything. No fuss, just nothing. A 19 x 11 cm box with nothing in it.

3x nothing
(3x NIKS, €60)

——————————
Either make three people happy with nothing, or surprise one person with three times nothing: three 22 x 13 cm boxes with nothing in them.

Next to nothing
(net NIKS, €75)

——————————
Next to nothing is a 22 x 13 cm box with nothing in it. It’s nearly not the most expensive option. Maybe consider the priciest one after all? This is the future of our planet we’re talking about.

Everything for nothing
(alles voor NIKS, €150)

——————————
The biggest box (26 x 17 cm) with nothing in it that still fits through your mailbox. The ideal choice if you want to give nothing, but spend a lot to protect the earth.

Is nothing sustainable?

For the nothing-purist, nothing was available without the empty box at all. For everyone else, we kept production as sustainable as possible: second-hand cardboard for the boxes, and cards printed with vegetable ink.