The 132-strong team at family-owned Highfield Garden World in Gloucestershire joined more than 500 retailers across the nation to proudly mark Purple Tuesday – the UK’s first accessible shopping day. 

Staff wore purple ribbons on the day and set up a special Purple Tuesday station encouraging shoppers to make comments and suggestions for change, whilst in the restaurant there were muffins and cake delicately decorated with piped purple toppings. 

The business even had a visit from BBC Radio Gloucestershire for a live interview about the event and to spread the word about the awareness day.

Joan Greenway, co-founder and MD of Highfield Garden World, commented:  “We are delighted to have got involved in Purple Tuesday right from the start. 

"It’s a fantastic initiative which, backed as it is by government and household names like Asda and Marks & Spencer, looks set to gain pace every year. 

"We want shopping, browsing, eating and drinking to be as enjoyable and relaxing as possible for every single one of our customers. 

"Accessible measures so far include a completely flat site, lots of disabled toilets, plenty of natural light in our glass-walled restaurant, disabled parking, wheelchairs to borrow and plenty of friendly staff, but we’re all ears when it comes to what more we can do.” 

Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a disability, and Purple Tuesday was created by disability organisation Purple to shine a light on some of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities right across the UK, and what retailers can do to help make their businesses more inclusive and accessible.