Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a British scheme and company created to help people with hidden disabilities navigate and find help in public places, by providing sunflower lanyards to provide for people with hidden disabilities to signal their need for extra help in public.
The scheme was created in 2016 by Gatwick Airport and various charities. [1] In April 2019, London North Eastern Railway became the first railway company to recognize the scheme. By July 2020, all British railway companies had adopted the sunflower lanyard scheme as a means for passengers to let staff members know they may need more assistance, and that they may be medically exempt from wearing a face covering. [2]
The scheme has now been adopted by airports in the United States, including Tulsa International Airport [3] and Central Illinois Regional Airport. [4] It has now been adopted by airports in Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Caribbean, Columbia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, The Netherlands, UAE, UK and USA. [5]
In Hong Kong it has been adopted by the HSBC Bank. [6]
Sunflower lanyards and badges can be obtained for free at participating venues or purchased directly from the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower company website. Hidden Disabilities Sunflower have criticized the resale of their products at inflated costs, and the sale of counterfeit products on websites including Amazon and eBay. [7]
The sunflower lanyards are intended to let staff members know that the wearer has a hidden disability and as a result may take longer or need extra assistance. Staff members are trained to spot the lanyards and help the wearer. [8]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns were raised that the lanyards were being abused by non-disabled people for the purposes of avoiding wearing a face covering. Such usage has been criticized by Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, who have stated that only people who consider themselves to have a hidden disability (whether diagnosed or not) should wear the lanyard. [9]
In 2024, Lego announced that they have partnered with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to produce minifigures with the sunflower lanyard. [10]
Lego is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) that accompany an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Its pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Assembled Lego models can be taken apart, and their pieces can be reused to create new constructions.
The common sunflower is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the production of cooking oil, as food for livestock, as bird food, and as a plantings in domestic gardens for aesthetics. Wild plants are known for their multiple flower heads, whereas the domestic sunflower often possesses a single large flower head atop an unbranched stem.
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