"A little dot that makes a big difference" - a social innovation from The Dr. Miele Cosmed Group S.A.. First digital label allowing visually impaired people to learn about the content.
In cooperation with the visually impaired community, Dr. Miele Cosmed Group S.A. developed a system of a fully accessible digital product label. A bump that can be found on a packaging is a part of this strategy. It helps a visually-impaired person find the QR code printed on the label and proceed to a website developed according to the WCAG 2.0 framework.
Dr. Miele Cosmed Group S.A., a cosmetics and household chemicals manufacturer, paid more attention to the issue of label readability. At the same time, along with experts from Towarzystwo Opieki nad Ociemniałymi in Laski, they focused on solutions used by visually impaired people while running daily errands, such as shopping. That’s how a three-step accessibility system for everyone came to life:
- The label of a modified product bottle features a specially marked QR code that can be scanned by widely available apps.
- But to scan it, a visually impaired person has to find it first. A small bump underneath the QR code on the bottom part of the bottle guides them to the code.
- The website, specific for every scent of the product, constitutes the third element of the system. The website is developed according to the WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) framework – it’s a set of documents containing recommendations on developing websites accessible to all Internet users.
This way, the product purchased – in this case Sofin fabric softener – is fully identifiable for visually impaired customers, it’s safe and gives the customers the freedom to use it without the participation of third parties.
“Every person has the right to be fully involved in public life, whether we are talking about schooling system, architecture, means of transport or mass media. It’s the small steps that contribute to building accessibility: integrated classes at schools, audible pedestrian signals or Braille labelling on medications. I hope that the solution proposed by Dr. Miele Cosmed Group S.A. will make it easier to use our products for millions of visually impaired customers” – sums up Magdalena Mielimonka, Vice-President of the Management Board.
Sofin fabric softeners - first products in the portfolio with a digital label
Vision impairment affects a growing number of people
According to research published this February, a percentage of people with diagnosed sight defect or ocular diseases amounts to as much as 54%, with short-sightedness being the most common.* In the era of ageing society, the process progresses with each passing year.
On the other hand, we suffer from lack of effective solutions helping visually impaired people use FMCG products. A convex triangle that can be felt under your fingertips on certain household chemicals may be enshrined in law, but it is not recognisable enough in the community of the visually impaired. What’s more, its limited role is related to the fact that it does not carry any information beyond the warning.
* Public opinion study conducted for Vision Express with the CAWI research methodology by IQS Sp. z o.o. in February 2022 r. on representative sample of 1679 Polish respondents.