ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT FOR WHITE STUFF

At White Stuff, we are committed to ensuring our website is accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities. We strive to provide an inclusive online experience that allows everyone to engage with our content and wonderful products. Our values at White Stuff embrace individuality, and we want to instil that throughout our business and shopping experience by being as accessible as possible in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guide (WCAG), coming into effect in June 2025.

OUR COMMITMENT

We aim to make our website as accessible as possible by adhering to recognised standards and guidelines. Our efforts include:

  • Compliance with Standards: We endeavour to conform to the WCAG 2.1 AA standards, ensuring our website is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users.
  • Regular Testing: We conduct periodic accessibility audits using both automated tools and manual testing to identify and address potential barriers.
  • User Feedback: We value feedback from our users and encourage anyone encountering accessibility issues to contact us.
  • Regular Training: We have ensured that our relevant team members are trained in accessibility and the potential additional needs of our customers for both our online and physical store locations. We have created standardised SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) for key content creation so that our accessibility guidelines are met.

ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

Our website incorporates a number of features to enhance accessibility:

  • Keyboard Navigation: Users can navigate our website using keyboard-only controls. We have conducted an audit of the website to ensure that keyboard-only users do not get stuck in any part of the website.
  • Screen Reader Compatibility: We ensure that our content is compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
  • Consistent and Accessible Design: We have worked to ensure colour contrasts used in both our website and stores remain with in an easily viewable range and text size used isn’t too small.
  • User Compatibility: We have worked to ensure our website functions on both mobile and desktop platforms. The website has been tested and we highlighted that there’s room to improve the functionality at 200% zoom. We’re working on this for the end of the year. We’re also looking at how different interactions on mobile will increase accessibility.
  • Text Alternatives: Images and non-text content include descriptive alt text to convey information effectively.
  • Subtitles for Video: Videos on our social platforms and website will have subtitles included if audio is present.
  • Consistent Structure: Our website maintains a consistent layout and structure to facilitate ease of use. This also includes functional HTML structure across all pages, allowing screen readers to navigate the site easier. White Stuff has also been working to establish clear endpoints for products and to display the number of remaining pages using the "next page" arrow. This improvement enhances navigation for screen reader users and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
  • Compatible PDFs: Our teams have worked to ensure compatibility with screen readers and keyboard-only users.
  • Accessible Emails: We have created new SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) for email content to ensure the same standards are met across all forms of communication.

RETAIL LOCATIONS AND IN-STORE ACCESSIBILITY

At White Stuff, we are also committed to ensuring our retail stores are accessible, comfortable, and inclusive for all customers.

We have assessed the accessibility of key areas within our store environments; such as entrances, checkout areas, and fitting rooms and will continue to maintain high standards of accessibility across all locations.

Some of the measures in place include:

  • Clear signage in line with WCAG 2.1 AA guidance, well-lit spaces, and wide pathways
  • Accessible fitting rooms wherever possible
  • Staff training on providing inclusive and respectful customer service
  • Checkout process has been audited to ensure devices used and processes remain accessible

We regularly review our physical store environments and processes to ensure everyone can shop with ease and dignity. Our Head Office teams conduct checks during every store visit.

UPCOMING IMPROVEMENTS

Accessibility is an ongoing effort. We are continually working to improve the user experience for all our customers. Some of our future commitments include:

  • Staying Informed: Keeping up-to-date with the latest accessibility standards and best practices.
  • Skip to Content: To allow for easier navigation for customers using screen readers, we aim to enable a ‘Skip to Content’ function. This will reduce the amount of repetition and allow for more effective navigation. We aim to have this function live by the end of the year.
  • Pause and Play Buttons for Video Banners: We are working towards adding additional functionality to our video content, including buttons to pause, stop, and control sound. Development is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
  • Regular Training: When new improvements or changes to legislation are made, we will update our policies and procedures.
  • Feedback Integration: We will incorporate user feedback into our development process to address specific needs and concerns.

CONTACT US

If you experience any difficulty accessing our website or have suggestions for improvement, either online or in one of our shops, please reach out to us:

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Phone: 020 3752 5360 Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm GMT (excluding UK Bank Holidays).
  • Mail: White Stuff Limited, Canterbury Court, Kennington Park, 1–3 Brixton Road, London, SW9 6DE, UK

We appreciate your feedback and are dedicated to enhancing accessibility for all our customers.