After five years making clothing and careers, the Nisa workshop in Wellington is closing its doors in July.
The ethical underwear, activewear and swimwear label was founded in 2017 to provide women from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Wellington with their first job in Aotearoa New Zealand, and won the Good magazine Good People Award for Social Enterprise in 2018.
Founder and CEO Elisha Watson put Nisa on the market at the beginning of the year, but negotiations fell through. In the meantime, Nisa’s financial forecasts have fallen as inflation and cost of living remains stubbornly high.
“We have tried every trick in the book to keep our social enterprise going, but we’ve got to the point where we’re not in a financial position to continue operating without a buyer to inject capital,” Watson says.
Garments will remain available to purchase at until their online store closes on July 16.
“We have so many loyal customers that only wear Nisa, we wanted to give them a chance to stock up before we say goodbye,” says Watson.
She says she is incredibly proud of everything Nisa has achieved over the last five years, dispatching over 25,000 orders, collecting more than 2500 five-star reviews, paying over $1.5 million in wages, and providing 29 women from refugee and migrant backgrounds with valuable work experience and a place to belong.
Nisa’s goal was never to provide a job for life, rather to provide a launchpad for careers in New Zealand, says Watson.
“I know that with the skills and confidence they’ve developed at Nisa, every member of the team would be an absolute asset to any employer.”
Watson has brought in a career coach to work one-on-one with each employee to help them plan their next steps.
Nisa’s garments will remain available for purchase at nisa.co.nz while the team sews pre-cut fabrics and clears existing stock.
