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Accessible Clothing Project Receives Funding Boost



People living with disabilities and age-related mobility challenges will be able to enjoy improved independence thanks to a project that adapts everyday clothing to meet their individual needs.


Sharon Tombs and the team at Dressability are expanding their Mobility Matters project, helping more people stay comfortable and confident in the clothes they choose to wear.


Based in Wiltshire, Dressability is a specialist garment adaptation charity that works with disabled and older people throughout the UK. Its skilled dressmakers make custom alterations that help clients dress more independently, move safely and maintain their own personal style without compromising comfort while using mobility aids.


The Mobility Matters project focuses on removing the barriers that standard clothing can create, such as trip hazards or loose pieces catching on wheelchairs, that most of us never need to think about.


The adaptations made by Sharon and her colleagues range from replacing fiddly fastenings such as shirt buttons with magnetic alternatives, adjusting garments for wheelchair users, accommodating spinal curvature and reinforcing clothing for children who achieve mobility through crawling.


By tailoring garments to meet individual mobility needs, the charity helps people reduce reliance on others and remain active in everyday life. The service also supports dignity, choice and self-esteem, ensuring that functionality does not come at the expense of personal identity and style.


The project has received a £2,490 donation from the Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust, the charitable branch of the UK’s largest manufacturer and seller of wheelchair accessible vehicles, Allied Mobility.


The funding will help Dressability to adapt more than 30 garments for people who need them, and continue delivering its specialist service to people whose quality of life can be improved through carefully considered clothing adaptations.


Sharon Tombs, General Manager at Dressability, said:

"A huge thank you to the Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust for their donation. We are entirely reliant on the support of organisations such as these to deliver this valuable service."

"We will use the money carefully and effectively as part of our Mobility Matters project, enabling us to alter many more garments."


Ben Jenkins, National Sales Manager at Allied Mobility, said:

"At Allied Mobility, we supply wheelchair accessible vehicles to customers across the UK and we understand how important independence and personal choice are to people's daily lives."

"Style and comfort needn’t be given up in the name of accessibility. We are delighted to support Dressability’s Mobility Matters project as it helps bridge the gap, ensuring more people can wear the clothes they love while maintaining comfort and dignity."


The funding will help ensure more people can access clothing adapted to their personal needs, allowing them to move more freely, maintain their own individual style and enjoy greater confidence in everyday life.



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JCB is set to double the size of a new factory currently under construction in Texas as the company confirmed that newly-announced tariffs will impact its business in the short-term.


JCB has been manufacturing in the USA for 50 years, and last year bought 400 acres of land in San Antonio after recognising the need to produce even more machines in North America, where the company’s existing manufacturing plant in Savannah, Georgia, has operated for 25 years and employs around 1,000 people.


The original plan for a 500,000 square feet factory in San Antonio has now been revised and JCB is forging ahead with plans to double its size to one million square feet. The new $500 million plant is due to start production next year and employ up to 1,500 people and will build on JCB’s growth in North America.


JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford said:

“JCB has been in business for 80 years this year and we are well accustomed to change. The United States is the largest market for construction equipment in the world and President Trump has galvanised us into evaluating how we can make even more products in the USA, which has been an important market for JCB since we sold our first machine there in 1964.”

JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said:

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