Girl in a cornfield, hands outstretched
Kindness and Co

Giving kindness a voice with playful, inclusive language

Creating a rebelliously kind brand voice for the ethical retailer, Kindness & Co

“Northwords has captured exactly who we are: warm, playful, and rebelliously kind. Vicky has worked closely with our partners to make sure everything we put out sounds like us.”

Ali Carruthers-Illingworth, Founder Kindness & Co

What they wanted: a voice for the kindness movement

Kindness & Co is a start-up ethical retailer on a mission to make giving back part of every purchase.

Ali wanted a brand voice that would rally people around the K&Co movement: one that felt rebelliously kind, playfully uplifting, and genuinely inclusive.

The challenge? Building a voice that breathed life into Ali's vision of an alternative way to shop, keeping the same warmth and spark wherever it appeared.

And as a new brand, they needed a strategic approach so that anyone writing for Kindness & Co could sound right on the first try.

What I delivered

1. A rebelliously kind, uplifting tone

We kicked off with a tone of voice workshop, exploring Kindness and Co's mission and values. Together we landed on a voice that’s bold but never brash, kind but never dull. It’s designed to invite people in, spark joy, and challenge norms, with compassion at its core.

The result is copy that feels like a friendly nudge from someone you trust: warm, spirited, and a little rebellious in the best way.

2. Playful, feel-good copy

Across the website, product pages, and marketing touchpoints, I worked to make every line feel good to read. Headers like “Giving looks good on you” and product titles and descriptions that blend comfort with conscience mean shoppers don’t just browse, they feel seen.

The copy balances style with substance, showing that shopping with Kindness & Co isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about joy, generosity, and belonging.

3. Collaboration with web and social teams

Because the voice needed to live everywhere, I worked hand-in-hand with Ben and Chris at Shopify agency We Take Flight and Rebecca and Cathy at What's Your Story? marketing. Together we created copy on landing pages, CTAs, and social captions to make sure it had the same playful energy across all channels.

This made sure the voice wasn’t just theoretical; it was lived, tested, and ready to rally a movement.

4. Alignment with charity partners

Kindness & Co’s promise rests on trust: every purchase supports a charity of the customer’s choice. I liaised directly with the charities to make sure every landing page, message, and description was approved and respectful.

This meant charities felt represented, shoppers felt confident, and the whole ecosystem shared in the same spirit of openness and generosity.

5. Future-ready brand voice strategy

Finally, I created a brand voice strategy document that bottled the energy we’d built together: rebelliously kind, playfully uplifting, and genuinely inclusive.

From homepage straplines to Instagram captions, the strategy PDF makes it easy for anyone to write like Kindness & Co. It’s an overview designed not just for now, but to grow into guidelines that reflect the movement.

The results?
See them here for yourself.
  • A rebelliously kind voice that challenges norms with warmth and compassion
  • Playful, uplifting copy that makes shoppers feel good about giving back
  • Inclusive messaging that works across multiple touchpoints
  • Future-proofed strategy that makes the voice easy to share and scale

Kindness & Co now has a voice that feels like its mission: joyful, welcoming, and full of purpose, a movement you want to be part of.

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