Adaptive clothing brand EveryHuman is making getting ready in the morning easier for people living with disabilities through a new one-of-a-kind online clothing platform.
The Australian and New Zealand initiative aims to increase buyers independence by allowing shoppers to browse mainstream and sophisticated clothing by subtle functional benefits — including seated-wear, adaptive intimates, magnetic closures and easy-on shoes and pants.
According to Founder and Managing Director Matthew Skerritt, the majority of brands available on the site — including Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Converse — come from Canada and the United States, where there are considerably more adaptive clothing options available compared to Australia.
"My opinion is that over the next few years, we’re going to see a real focus on providing fashion for people of all abilities,” Skerritt said, according to news publication Inside Retail. “One in five in Australia have some form of disability, and if you think about it, that’s a lot of people. There needs to be a focus on fashion for all, and I think we’re at a starting point that it will be a focus moving forward, which is positive.”
Currently available on the site are rose gold high tops with zippers, tag-free side fastening underwear and open-back shirts.
We've created a platform to help you take control of your narrative. The only label you want is your own and we're here to help you craft it. At #EveryHumanau, we understand the power of fashion for the individual. #fashionforallpic.twitter.com/Mtw8jjM1Z2
— everyhumanau (@EveryHumanAU) November 26, 2019
EveryHuman has likewise pledged to only employ people living with disabilities to pack shipment orders in 2020.
In Australia, just under half of all working age people living with a disability are employed, compared to over 80% of Australians without a disability. According to the Australian Network of Disability, one in five Australians with a disability aged between 15 and 24 experience discrimination. In almost half of those cases the discrimination comes from an employer.
Sprinter and long-jumper Vanessa Low and wheelchair basketball bronze medalist Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy have teamed up with the new platform as brand ambassadors.
"I love what EveryHuman is all about. Here I’m wearing the Slick Chick Online Shop adaptive underwear, where they have attached three hook and eye fastenings on either side ... to make it easier for people to put them on from a laying down or seated position,” O’Kelly-Kennedy wrote on Facebook. “One of my biggest fears has been losing my independence as I get older. I love that people with disabilities are being included more and more in the fashion world and that many brands are now committed to exploring the possibilities of accessible clothing.”
Alongside empowering people living with disabilities to live more independent lives through adaptive clothing, EveryHuman has created a T-Shirt for Change initiative where all profits from the sale of three shirts will go to three respective foundations supporting people with special needs across Australia.