A Guide to Adaptive Clothing: How to Choose the Right Adaptive Clothing for Older Adults with Different Needs

By: Fion Yu

What is Adaptive Clothing?

Adaptive clothing is defined by Disabled World as “clothing, garments, and footwear specially designed for people with physical disabilities, older adults, infirm and post-surgery patients”. In simpler terms, adaptive clothing is designed to accommodate the needs and abilities of people with limited mobility to make dressing easier, with the aim to enhance independence, comfort, and dignity for individuals facing physical or cognitive challenges.

For older adults, adaptive features simplify the dressing process, allowing them to dress independently, improve comfort and increase one’s accessibility to medical care including personal hygiene, wound cleaning and medical examination. For carers, adaptive clothing saves dressing time for older adults, and reduces the physical strain associated with dressing older adults who are bedridden, unable to stand, lift their arms, or bend easily.  

With the increasing aging population in Hong Kong, the demand for adaptive clothing has risen significantly. However, this might not be widely known to older adults or carers, and these are not easily accessible in Hong Kong. Furthermore, there is a lack of public advertising, government policy support, dedicated designers and resources to expand this adaptive market in Hong Kong. Hence, we would like to raise public awareness of adaptive clothing by exploring its features, the benefits of using adaptive clothing for older persons and carers, and suggesting some brands to purchase or channels to custom-make adaptive clothing based on individual needs.

Adaptive Clothing Catering the Various Needs of Older Persons 

Clothing could either be specially made as adaptive clothing or be regular clothing that comes with different adaptation features to enhance comfort for individuals. Based on the common needs of older adults, we have identified some key adaptive clothing features for carers to consider:

Limited Dexterity/Mobility

Instead of traditional buttons, adaptive clothing uses magnetic buttons or zippers to help older adults with limited dexterity easier to fasten. This feature can be used in tops and pants with side zippers that extend from the waistband down to the ankle, creating a large opening for entry and exit. This can reduce the risk of falling during the dressing process.

Bedridden

Traditional front-opening clothes can be replaced by velcro or snap closures for quick and easy dressing and undressing. Some adaptive clothing is designed to open along the sides, allowing carers to dress or undress older adults without requiring them to stand or lift their arms. Velcro or snap can also be applied to back closures, especially for those who are bedridden, so they can dress or undress while lying down.

Medical Needs

Older adults with catheters, post-surgery needs, or even those with limited mobility can choose pyjamas designed with a wrap-style or overlapping back would ease carers to dress themwhile they are lying down or sliding into the garment. These features are designed with convenience and accessibility in mind and have been widely used in aged care facilities.

Medical Devices

Older adults who rely on medical devices can choose adaptive clothing designed with more openings or access points for feeding tubes or other medical equipment.

Wheelchair Users

Adaptive tops with extend longer back lengths can prevent the garment from riding up while sitting. The tops are designed with no back pockets to minimize pressure points for wheelchair users who sit for extended periods.

Prone to Falling

Adaptive features also extend to footwear, socks and soles to help older adults access the community independently despite having limited mobility. For example, slip-resistance soles provide additional safety or non-slip grips on footwear help prevent slipping, especially for those with balance issues. Easy-on socks are designed with wider openings and non-binding tops for easier wear and improved circulation.

Sensitive Skin

Adaptive clothing usually uses soft, non-irritating fabrics and clothing tags are removed to reduce friction and discomfort. This prevents pressure and irritation for older adults with sensitive skin.

We have seen global manufacturers developing more adaptive features to address diverse needs. The adaptive features mentioned above are by no means exhaustive, but these clearly make dressing easier, safer and more comfortable.

Where to Buy Adaptive Clothing in Hong Kong

There are several custom-made adaptive clothing channels currently running in Hong Kong, some of which cover a wide range of adaptive clothing and accessories. 

Care Apparel Association Limited 

• Website: https://www.careapparelhk.org/about-us
• Overview: A registered non-profit charitable institution in Hong Kong offering custom-made adaptive clothing, developing various care apparel and related products to take care of people with different clothing challenges
• Products include urine bag pants, open-back tops, adaptive bras, clothing with underarm openings, velcro opening and more.

Rhys Company Limited 

• Website: https://rhyshk.com/
• Overview: Provide products including medical accessories, dietary scarves, wheelchair accessories, and cotton clothing. Their custom-made products can be found in Citysuper, Culture Homes, Cheers Gallery, or online retailers including Senimart (https://www.senimart.hk/) and easy66 (https://www.easy66.com.hk/)

Home Care Apparel 

• Website: https://www.fpphca.com/ 
• Overview: A social enterprise that designs, manufactures and sells adaptive clothing and related products locally. They sew adaptive clothing, and educate the public on the proper way of caring, so as to lessen the physical burden and stress for both older adults and carers. 
• Products include: wheelchair pants, creative aprons, open-back pants and total care pajamas can be purchased from their official website.

Overseas Adaptive Clothing Options

We are also sharing some overseas brands below that specialize in adaptive clothing, including magnetic buttons, footwear and more. Please note that currently there are no direct shipping options to Hong Kong.

Magna Ready

• Website: https://magnaready.com/
• Products: Specialise in include magnetic buttons to regular men’s and women’s clothing for individuals with disabilities, limited mobility and dexterity, or post-surgery needs

Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive

• Website: https://responsibility.pvh.com/tommy/adaptive/
• Products: Fashionable accessible clothing for both men and women 

Zappos 

• Website: https://www.zappos.com/c/adaptive
• Products: Easy on-off sneakers and slip-on shoes
  

Looking Ahead: Embracing the Potential of Adaptive Clothing

Adaptive clothing is in high demand worldwide, including in Hong Kong, due to its substantial benefits offered to both older adults and carers. Although there are limited purchase options available in Hong Kong, carers can explore the above-mentioned adaptive features while exploring custom-made options when needed. As the population ages rapidly, the importance of adaptive clothing will become increasingly prominent. We encourage carers to actively explore this innovative field and find the most suitable clothing solutions for the elderly.

By choosing adaptive clothing, carers can not only simplify daily care tasks but also significantly improve the quality of life and dignity of older adults. Even when faced with limited choices, don't be discouraged. Start small by selecting one or two items with adaptive features and observe their impact on the elderly's daily life. Meanwhile, share experiences with other carers to collectively drive the development of the local market.

We also call on relevant institutions and designers to pay attention to this field and develop more adaptive clothing that meets the needs of Hong Kong's elderly. As awareness increases and demand grows, we believe that Hong Kong's adaptive clothing market will gradually expand, bringing convenience to more seniors and carers. Let us work together to create a more inclusive and friendly society where every older adult can live comfortably and confidently.