Event Network has teamed with KultureCity, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion for individuals with sensory needs and invisible disabilities, to bring more thoughtfully designed products into its stores. The companies hope this partnership helps guests to feel more comfortable, confident and welcome in these shops and the related attractions.
Over the years, KultureCity has partnered with many zoos, aquariums and museums, offering guidance to help cultural attractions strengthen sensory accessible and inclusive experiences through staff training, resources and awareness. Event Network adds that one in four individuals in the United States has a sensory processing need, making it important for the company to ensure its assortments include products that help support those guests and bring them comfort.
KultureCity experts will help guide Event Network’s product development team, providing practical input to ensure its designs and product selections align with the needs of all the communities it is serving. Guidance will include everything from materials and construction to wearability and everyday usefulness, with sensory considerations at the center of the process.
“We have been so impressed by how our cultural attraction partners have been leading the way and supporting this community,” says Julie Ricci, Event Network vice president of product development. “When we looked at what items were being offered to people with sensory processing needs, it became clear there was a gap in the industry, and KultureCity seemed like the perfect people to collaborate with to fill that gap.”
Tied to this new partnership, Event Network is releasing AirSeam as a new line of apparel designed for guests with sensory sensitivities. The new AirSeam T-shirts are designed with comfort-forward features, such as wider neck openings and a reverse flack-lock seam. AirSeam will launch as part of Wearsponsible, Event Network’s exclusive apparel collection that emphasizes responsible sourcing and production from “seed to sew.” The company says AirSeam is its first step in a broader roadmap of sensory-considerate products it plans to debut, informed by KultureCity’s perspective and shaped by what guests need.
“Accessibility should be part of the experience everywhere people gather to learn, explore and create memories,” says Uma Srivastava, executive director at KultureCity. “At KultureCity, we believe accessibility and inclusion is most meaningful when it is thoughtfully integrated into everyday environments. Partnering with Event Network allows us to extend sensory accessible and inclusive thinking into retail spaces within cultural attractions, ensuring that more guests and families feel comfortable, supported and truly welcome. When organizations design with sensory needs in mind, they create experiences that benefit everyone.”
Event Network’s new sensory accessible and inclusive products, developed alongside KultureCity, will launch this fall at 30 of Event Network’s partner locations, many of which already have long-standing relationships with KultureCity.
“We are really excited to be partnering with KultureCity’s team of experts,” adds Ricci. “It’s a great opportunity for us to develop something that didn’t really exist in our stores before.”
