Accessibility Statement

Section 01

Our Commitment

At Essential Fashion, we believe that everyone — regardless of age, ability, or how they access the internet — deserves a seamless shopping experience. We are actively working to ensure our website, essentialfashion.net, meets modern accessibility standards and can be used by as many people as possible.

This statement explains what we are doing to improve accessibility, what our current limitations are, and how you can get help or report an issue.

Accessibility is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time fix. We continuously review and improve our site based on user feedback and evolving best practices.

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Section 02

Standards We Follow

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. These guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are the internationally recognised standard for web accessibility.

WCAG 2.1 is organised around four core principles — content must be:

• Perceivable — information and interface components must be presented in ways all users can perceive

• Operable — interface components and navigation must be operable by everyone

• Understandable — information and the operation of the interface must be understandable

• Robust — content must be robust enough to be interpreted by assistive technologies

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Section 03

Accessibility Features

We have implemented the following features to improve accessibility across our website:

High Contrast

Our black and white colour palette ensures strong contrast ratios that meet WCAG AA standards throughout.

Readable Fonts

We use Inter — a highly legible modern sans-serif — at comfortable sizes with generous line spacing.

Responsive Design

Our site works across all devices and screen sizes — mobile, tablet, and desktop — without loss of functionality.

Keyboard Navigation

All key features of our website can be accessed and operated using a keyboard alone, without requiring a mouse.

Alt Text on Images

All meaningful images on our site include descriptive alternative text for screen reader users.

Clear Structure

Pages use a clear heading hierarchy, logical reading order, and descriptive link text throughout.

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Section 04

Compliance Status

Our current accessibility compliance status across key areas of our website is as follows:

Area Status Notes

Colour contrast (text) Compliant Meets WCAG AA 4.5:1 minimum throughout

Keyboard navigation Compliant All interactive elements reachable via keyboard

Image alt text Compliant All product and content images have alt text

Form labels Compliant All form inputs have clear, visible labels

Screen reader support Partial Core pages supported; some custom widgets under review

Video captions Partial Not all video content currently captioned

Skip navigation links In Progress Being added in next site update

Focus indicators Compliant Visible focus styles on all interactive elements

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Section 05

Known Limitations

While we work hard to meet accessibility standards across our entire site, there are some areas we are still improving. These known limitations include:

• Some older product images may lack descriptive alt text — we are working through these systematically

• Certain third-party widgets (such as embedded review tools or payment screens) may not fully meet WCAG standards as these are outside our direct control

• Some embedded video content does not yet have captions — we are adding these as a priority

• Skip navigation links are not yet available on all pages — these are being added in our next site update

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If you encounter any accessibility barrier not listed here, please let us know. We take all feedback seriously and will work to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

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Section 06

Technical Approach

Our website is built using the following technical practices to support accessibility:

• Semantic HTML5 elements are used throughout to communicate page structure clearly

• ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels are used where additional context is needed for assistive technologies

• CSS is used for visual presentation only — the page remains usable when stylesheets are disabled

• All interactive elements have clear and visible focus states for keyboard users

• Text can be resized up to 200% without loss of content or functionality

• Our site does not use content that flashes more than three times per second

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Section 07

Assistive Technology

We have tested our website with the following assistive technologies and browsers to ensure compatibility:

• NVDA screen reader with Google Chrome on Windows

• VoiceOver with Safari on macOS and iOS

• TalkBack with Chrome on Android

• Keyboard-only navigation on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari

• Windows High Contrast mode

• Browser zoom up to 200% across all major browsers

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If you experience problems using our website with any assistive technology not listed above, please contact us and we will investigate immediately.

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Section 08

Feedback & Contact

We genuinely welcome feedback on the accessibility of our website. If you find any barriers or experience any difficulty using our site, please let us know and we will do our best to resolve the issue promptly.

You can contact us in the following ways:

• Email: alexgrainger1999@gmail.com

• Subject line: "Accessibility Feedback"

• Response time: Within 2 business days

• Website: essentialfashion.net/contact

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If you need information from our website in an alternative format — such as large print, easy read, or audio — please contact us and we will do our best to provide it.

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Section 09

Enforcement

If you have contacted us about an accessibility issue and are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) in the UK.

The EASS provides advice and support on equality and discrimination issues. You can contact the EASS at:

• Website: www.equalityadvisoryservice.com

• Phone: 0808 800 0082

• Textphone: 0808 800 0084

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Section 10

Review Date

This accessibility statement was last reviewed and updated in June 2026. We review and update this statement at least once per year, or whenever we make significant changes to our website.

Our next scheduled accessibility review is June 2027. We welcome ongoing feedback in the meantime — your experience helps us improve for everyone.