Tasmanian Company Fashions Functional Clothing for Disabled Australians

In 2003, it was estimated there were over 3.9 million Australians, or 20% of the population, living with a disability^1, and an estimated 2.6 million unpaid carers looking after loved ones with a disability. Over half a million (19%) of those carers were aged over 65 ², and these numbers are expected to grow with our ageing population.

Despite these statistics, clothing designers do not consider the difficulties experienced by disabled people when putting on a shirt or doing up buttons for example, the discomfort experienced through sitting all day in clothes designed for able-bodied people, nor the struggles carers endure to help dress or undress a loved one.

Errine Adaptive Clothing Managing Director and Registered Nurse Jane Thomasson, said, ‘Limitations to mobility may come about through a stroke, spinal or brain injury, or through diseases such as arthritis, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis’.  ‘Regardless of the cause, when you have lost the use of your arms, legs, body, or motor skills, it can be near impossible to put on clothing independently, and carers are struggling every day to help loved ones with dressing and undressing’.

‘Many disabled people are wearing clothes a size or two too big to make it easier to get them on and off, or for the sake of comfort’, she said, adding, ‘and various conditions bring about the need for medical or hygiene devices such as catheters, tube feeds, incontinence aids, or hip protectors, which regular clothing just doesn’t accommodate; Errine's adaptive clothing makes it easier to manage and accommodate those devices’.

‘Loss of joint movement can be a result of nerve injury, stroke, or diseases, and it can be very painful for example to put a shirt on someone who can’t move or bend their joints.’ ‘It’s also very upsetting for carers to have to force clothes on someone when it hurts them’ said Jane.

The Errine clothing range is easy to get on and off, comfortable to wear, discreet with its unique features, and easier for carers to manage.  All styles look like regular clothing to maintain normality and dignity for the wearer, and are designed to be comfortable for the seated position.

Errine sells its adaptive clothing across Australia through its online store, and through a growing network of nationwide stockists.

For more information about the clothing:

Errine Adaptive Clothing

Ph: 1300 782 965

www.errine.com.au

_{1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008. ‘Disability in Australia: trends in prevalence, education, employment and community living’. Bulletin no. 61. Cat. no. AUS 103. Canberra: AIHW   2.2013 Carers Australia Incorporated, ‘Some quick stats on Australia's carers’.}