Visually impaired demand better UK labelling laws on World Braille Day

On World Braille Day, new research commissioned by Roland DG, a provider of digital printing solutions, has shown that 81% of visually impaired people in the UK believe brands should be forced to make their products more accessible by law. The vendor recommends using Braille and special QR codes to improve accessibility, especially for vital allergy and dietary information on food products.  

The findings are revealed in a survey of 500 UK adults with visual impairment carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Roland DG during 22-28 December 2023. Other key findings include:    

• 37% of UK visually impaired people feel that brands don’t make enough effort to ensure product packaging is accessible.

• 74% of individuals have picked up the wrong product when shopping, due to poor packaging guidance.

These types of mistakes have led to many visually impaired people feeling let down, and consequentially caused a perception of general disappointment among 51% or survey respondents, as well as feelings that they are wasting money (39%). Even more worryingly, 31% said they had picked up something they couldn’t eat due to incorrectly labelled dietary requirements and 23% did the same with something they are actually allergic to.

The impact of poorly labelled packaging has led to 26% of people with visual impairment not visiting a supermarket within the last month, according to the survey, while 23% find any in-store shopping experience too stressful, with 31% stating they felt the lack of  adequate Braille or QR codes on packaging made them concerned about a lack of information about ingredients and allergens.

Roland DG believe such information should be easily accessible in a multitude of ways and is launching a campaign to make it so in law in co-operation with Lucy Edwards (pictured), a social content creator and disability activist and presenter to coincide with World Braille Day on 4th January 2024.

The campaign ambassador called on people to: “Imagine a world where every bottle, every box, every tin feels exactly the same. Every day I wake up to a sighted world that isn’t made for me. 10 years ago, I lost my eyesight forever and my independence was gone. In my world, granola could be dog food, baked beans could be tinned pears and jam could be mint sauce.”  

This isn’t good enough and Edwards wants to ensure “it’s not this way anymore”, adding that: “When the world becomes tactile, it finally comes alive for me. I am so pleased to be working with Roland DG to raise awareness of this important issue. We must do more to help those with a visual impairment to live an independent and healthy lifestyle. I may not have any allergies but for some with severe allergies, having access to vital information on food packaging could be a matter of life or death.” 

Commenting on the campaign for better labelling laws for the visually impaired, Stephen Davis, Managing Director for UK & Ireland, said: “We can see some brands are working hard to make their packaging more accessible. But many don’t go far enough to make product information accessible to those with visual impairment.”

“We are asking brands to investigate ways to fit more accessible information onto all packaging, using a variety of methods from Braille to special QR codes. Ultimately everyone has the right to understand what they are buying, and accessible packaging for all is key.” 

As experts in digital printing, Roland DG provides the technology for printers with accessibility needs. Its solutions deliver prototypes and short-run packaging that are accessible by design. The company’s multi-layered UV printing capabilities are a powerful way to create high quality packaging with braille from prototypes to full scale production.