Disabled people are missing out on style trends due to still being unable to access shops, a survey has found.Research by DisabledGo shows that a quarter of fashion retailers do not have step-free access while only 10% of them have hearing loops. And at more than 60% of them staff were not provided with any disability awareness training.
In 2014 the not-for-profit organisation did a survey of 25,000 shops but this time concentrated on fashion, with 1,295 shops surveyed and the results showing that little had changed. Anna Nelson, executive director of DisabledGo.com, says: “progress has been slow”.
TV presenter and wheelchair user Sophie Morgan developed the ‘mannequal’ which is a wheelchair for a sitting mannequin. It was used by a well-known High Street store during the Paralympics in 2012 but then discarded and has not been seen since, although Sophie has recently put then back into production, feeling that this is the right time for them to be reintroduced.
“The product itself is just a small thing. We’ve got to make a push so that retailers actually go, ‘yeah, OK, we’ll listen,’” she said..“This chair is just one small thing in the bigger picture, but I feel that’s why I did it, it was like taking baby steps and see what happens. And this is that step.”
In a statement to the BBC, Penny Mordaunt, the Minister of State for Disabled People, said: “Our shop windows, magazine pages and catwalks should reflect the diversity of our society, and I want to see businesses making a real effort to be open to everyone.
“That’s why this week I’ve announced new champions to address the issues faced by disabled consumers, from buying clothes to travelling abroad. They’ll highlight the importance of being inclusive, whilst tapping into the £249bn spending power of disabled consumers.”
