White Cane Label: Trendy Clothing for Blind People

Two Rochester Institute of Technology students, Jaimen Brill and Asmah Abushagur, are launching an online clothing site for the blind and visually impaired. The site, White Cane Label, is a non-profit effort to help blind people shop online and easily keep track of their wardrobe without the help of a sighted friend.

The site’s interface will be driven by sound and text instead of images. Customers will receive recommendations based on their answers to a clothing questionnaire that gauges their personal style. The recommendations will consist of detailed descriptions of each item, including styles and price ranges. After ordering an item, they’ll be mailed the outfit with braille tags indicating the designer, clothing type, size, and color for easy reference. A second label will include washing instructions.

They are relying entirely on designer donations to supply their inventory, but will be charging full price in an effort to stop sighted buyers from taking advantage of any deals.

The site started as a school project, but soon captivated the pair as they looked into it deeper. White Cane Label is set to launch this fall, as they announced at the Fashion for Good Roundtable in Rome during Rome’s Summer Fashion Week.

Readers interested in learning more about internet accessibility for the disabled should see the W3C’s reference page.

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