Kohl's Introduces Adaptive Apparel To Three Largest Kids' Brands

(RTTNews) - Department store chain Kohl's Corp. (KSS) announced the launch of adaptive apparels - clothing designed for babies through young adults with disabilities under its three largest, private-label kids' brands - Jumping Beans, SO and Urban Pipeline. The products are available only online, at Kohls.com.

Adaptive apparels include clothing, garments and footwear are specially designed for people with physical disabilities who may find difficult to dress themselves. Adaptive clothing also makes dressing and undressing patients easier for caregivers, nurses, and hospice staff.

These clothes are easier to wear because the buttons are magnets, velcro, two-way zippers or hook-and-loop. They come with abdominal openings for medical ports and gastronomy feeding tubes.

They also have neck and hem for easy dressing, shoulder, side, abdominal and inseam snaps as well as hidden openings for abdominal access. Pants have an elastic waistband with drawstring and a higher rise for diaper coverage.

The retailer said with features including abdominal access and sensory-friendly and wheelchair-friendly options, it is offering adaptive options from baby all the way to juniors and young men.

It all began with a personal connection at Kohl's with Judy Koepsel, technical design manager for kids at Kohl's, who has a three-year-old daughter with developmental and sensory needs. She formed a group of Kohl's employees who have someone with similar needs to enable the development of the line of clothing with feedback from the group.

The first of the adaptive clothing for kids was developed in 2016 in partnership between non-profit Runway of Dreams Foundation and Tommy Hilfiger, which launched the first mainstream adaptive clothing line called Tommy Adaptive.

At the 2018 New York Fashion Week, Runway of Dreams had kicked off the event with an adaptive clothing show with the Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Target lines.

Other major brands that offer adaptive clothing include Tommy Hilfiger, Target, Nike, Zappos and Lands' End.