Purple are one of our global partners and we are delighted to be their 2023 Disability Partner for Purple Tuesday.

Who are Purple?

Purple is changing the disability conversation. They are an organisation bucking convention. Pioneers. Moving the disability dial from one about vulnerable people, charity and the responsibility of Governments. To one of choice, contribution, value and opportunity to both people and organisations.
Purple is unique in the market place. They work for both disabled people and businesses enabling disability to make a difference.

Why?

The Purple Pound – the consumer spending power of disabled people and their families – equates to £274 billion in the UK or $8 trillion worldwide and is rising at 14% per annum. Yet only 10% of businesses have a strategy to access this market.

Inforgraphic showing stats of the Purple pound


There are 14.1M disabled people in the UK and 1 billion across the world. The International symbol for disability – the wheelchair – is misleading as it represents only 8% of the overall disability population.

80% of disabled people have hidden disabilities which include conditions such as mental health, autism, dyslexia and asthma.

COVID 19 has shone a very bright light on a need for business to demonstrate social impact credentials. Staff are expecting it. Existing and potential customers will demand it. And investors are making it a pre-requisite in their investment decisions.

What Purple do

Purple work with businesses of all sizes and across all industries to support their disability journey. And most importantly, at a pace where they can bring their staff, customers and other stakeholders, including investors, with them.

Their flagship initiative, Purple Tuesday is the #1 brand for improving customer experience of disabled people and their families, 365 days a year. The initiative inspires businesses and their staff across all sectors, and of all sizes, to promote awareness, develop understanding and implement solutions for better accessibility. It is really easy to get involved and it is free. Make one commitment to change, implement the changes and then celebrate the improvements with all participating businesses. Last year’s November celebratory day reached over 19 million people, involved over 7,000 social media conversations and received over 270+ pieces of broadcast and print media. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower are a proud Purple Tuesday Partner and are excited to be supporting the international role out of Purple Tuesday in 2022.

Get involved and together we can improve the experiences of disabled customers and their families every day.

Purple 365

Purple 365 is a disability training and development resource for all your staff. It provides staff at all levels access to knowledge, understanding and practical approaches to deliver a better every day experience for disabled people as customers and employees.

Sunflower Standard, Professional and Corporate Members receive a 30% discount to Purple 365 as part of their Sunflower Membership. Contact [email protected] to redeem your discount.

Other Purple Support Services

Purple has a strong track record in supporting businesses across public, private and third sectors on their disability journey.

Our highly specialised team provide extensive insight into areas such as digital and physical accessibility, inclusive recruitment, policy and process, accessible communications and recommend actions to support disability inclusive businesses.

Purple services include:

  • Expert consultancy
  • Training
  • Digital Auditing
  • Access Auditing
  • Disability Confident Validation
  • Purple Approved Certification

Contact [email protected] to discuss Purple’s Disability Inclusion Support for Business and how we can work with you.

Go for it

Let Purple support your organisation to translate intent into action. Become a disability inclusive business.

From top to bottom. Bottom to top. One side to the other. Inside to outside. Businesses that include disability into the fabric of what they do. Businesses that see disability and disabled people as no different to non-disabled people are disability inclusive. This involves more than simply encouraging people; it requires making sure that inclusive policies, practices and environments are in place. A disability inclusive business values the contribution of all employees and customers regardless of their background.