Celebrate World Car Free Day
Got an idea that belongs on a T-shirt? This is your chance to make it happen.
Te Whau Pathway is a walking and cycling path being built across west Auckland, connecting communities, schools, parks and, eventually, the Manukau and Waitematā Harbours.
For World Car Free Day 2026, we want you to create a T-shirt design inspired by freedom, movement, adventure and getting around without a car.
Entries close midnight, Tuesday 15 September 2026.
Winners announced on Tuesday 22 September, World Car Free Day.
Prizes
1st — $300 + your design printed on a T-shirt
2nd — $100
3rd — $50
Winners will be featured online and also in future Te Whau Pathway Project promotions.
Your mission
Create a T-shirt design inspired by this year’s theme.
Make it bold. Make it original. Make it yours.
The theme is:
More Adventure. Less Time in the Car.
Think freedom, movement, exploring, hanging out, getting places under your own steam — and what a more car-free future could look like.
Once you’ve finished your design, get it to us in two easy steps.
- Take a photo of your design
- Fill out our online form.
We prefer people to fill out the online form rather than sending an email. However, you may email a photo of your entry to tewhaupathway.auckland@gmail.com using the subject Design Competition 2026. If you’re under 18 years old, include in your email your school name, your age and your guardian’s email or phone number so we can get in touch if you win.
How to get the creative juices flowing
- Draw, paint, or sketch on paper
- Design digitally on your phone or tablet
- Use any style or tool that helps you express your vision!
Visualise your design
Download our printable t-shirt template to help you see how your design will look when worn.
Pro Tips from designers
- No need to add the Te Whau Pathway Project logo—we’ll include it later
- Format your artwork on portrait A4 (320mm wide x 450mm high)
- Keep it simple! Line drawings and bold shapes work best
- Stick to 1–2 colours for a clean, striking print
- Avoid gradients—blocks of colour print better
Inspo from earlier years
Below are some winning entries that may inspire you. You can also see all previous designs on these pages.
The fine print
Te Whau Pathway Environmental Trust (TWPET) welcomes entries to Te Whau Pathway’s T-Shirt Design Competition for World Car Free Day (“Competition”). By entering this Competition, entrants are deemed to have read, understood and accepted the following terms and conditions:
A. Competition
1. To enter, entrants must submit a design a Te Whau Pathway t-shirt.
3. Entries are to be submitted via email to tewhaupathway.auckland@gmail.com.
3. If the TWPET cannot open or upload the entries submitted because of technical errors caused by file quality or if the file is damaged, the TWPET reserves the right not to include the entries in the competition. However the TWPET will work with you to ensure all entries are given the opportunity to be submitted.
4. The Competition commences on Monday 10th August 2026 and ends on Tuesday 15th September 2025 at midnight. Entries received outside these times will not be accepted.
5. The Competition is open to any member of the public, residing in New Zealand. A person can only enter once. Multiple entries will result in an entrant being disqualified. Group entries will be accepted.
6. Entrants under 18 years of age warrant that at the time of entry they have the permission of their parent/guardian to enter.
7. Every entrant warrants that all information submitted is true, current and complete. All designs must be original, previously unpublished, and free of copyright restrictions. TWPET reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who does not comply with these terms and conditions.
8. The winning designs may be used on official TWPET t-shirts, and may also be used on Te Whau Pathway and Auckland Council materials, including posters, bookmarks, forms and fliers and websites to promote the project and / or seek future funding.
9. All rights to the winning designs will belong to the TWPET. The TWPET reserves the right to modify the winning designs to fit with our branding templates and guidelines.
B. Entries, selection and prize draw
9. The Competition Winner will be decided by the TWPET.
10. Designs can be hand drawn or computer-generated.
11. The Competition Winner will be announced on the Te Whau Pathway website, the Te Whau Pathway Facebook page and the Te Whau Pathway Instagram account on World Car Free Day, Tuesday 22nd Sept 2026.
12. The Competition Winner will be contacted by email within five (5) working days of the announcement. If entrants were under 18 at the time of entry, the TWPET will ask to contact a parent/guardian.
13. Designs should be one-dimensional for printing purposes. If submitted design is an image of a hand drawn design, there should be no glitter, glue or pictures stuck to the design.
14. The entrant warrants they have the specific consent of any identifiable faces/persons in their design to include them.
15. If the Competition Winner cannot be reached after three (3x) attempts, the runner-up will be awarded as the winner.
16. TWPET’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
C. Prize
17. The Prize is $300 for the winning design and the t-shirt you designed, $100 for the runner up design and $50 for third place.
18. If the Prize or part of the Prize becomes unavailable (for any reason), TWPET reserves the right to cancel or amend the Prize at its own and sole discretion.
D. Privacy
19. All entrants consent to TWPET using their names, home suburb and design entry for promotional purposes, external and internal marketing, promotion, communication and general publicity purposes in connection with the Competition, including displaying their names and design entries on the Te Whau Pathway website and Te Whau Pathway Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages.
20. The Competition Winner also consents to participate and cooperate as required in all promotional activities relating to the Competition. This primarily involves a photo of the winner wearing a t-shirt with their design on it.
21. All information provided by the entrants will be collected, used, stored, disclosed and corrected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993. All entrants have the right to access their information and request for any personal information to be corrected.
E. Exclusions
22. Anyone not a resident of New Zealand at the time of the announcement of the winner is not eligible to win any prize.
23. TWPET reserves the right to exclude any entrant from participating in the Competition at its sole discretion. TWPET also reserves the right to refuse to award the Prize to an entrant who is in breach of these Terms and Conditions, gained an unfair advantage in participating in the Competition or won the Prize by using fraudulent means.
24. TWPET acknowledges that the Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered, or associated with Facebook or Instagram or any other social media.
25. TWPET will not be liable for any claims for loss, damage or injury whatsoever or for any physical or mental injury suffered by any entrant or the Competition Winner as a result of or in connection with the Competition or due to the Prize won in the Competition.
26. TWPET reserves the right to amend or change these Terms and Conditions at any time at their sole discretion, including extending, postponing or canceling the Competition.
27. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand and shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.