We (heart) Staples

RantWoman comes from a long and tangled line of preachers, faith-based migrants, and other colorful folk with a crusading bent. Perhaps that explains RantWoman's endless capacity to cheerlead for the Cause du Jour!

Today's cause is ....(drum roll....cash register Kaching....) Accessible retail, unencumbered by an actual link to the followowing press release:

Blind Community Leaders Applaud Staples' Initiative to Enhance Staples.comand Store Point of Sale Equipment
April 23, 2009 -- Major advocacy groups for the visually impaired applaudStaples' new initiatives designed to improve service to its customers withvisual impairments. Staples will be improving its payment service terminals at the in-store point-of-sale with tactile keypads to protect the privacy and security of shoppers with visual impairments. The company will also make improvements to Staples.com that will benefit customers with visual impairments and other disabilities.
Today's announcement is the result of collaboration between Staples and major blindness organizations including the Bay State Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, and the California Council of the Blind. These organizations praised Staples' initiative and urged other retailers to follow the company's example.
Web Site AccessToday's initiative includes Staples' commitment to design http://www.staples.com/ in accordance with guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (www.w3.org/wai). The guidelines,which do not affect the content or look and feel of a Web site, ensure thatWeb sites are accessible to persons with a wide range of disabilities. The guidelines are of particular benefit to blind computer users who use screenreader or magnification technology on their computers and who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.
"Web site accessibility is of critical importance to both the blind community and to people with disabilities generally," said Paul Schroeder,Vice President Programs and Policy Group, American Foundation for the Blind."We applaud Staples' commitment to address the accessibility of its Website, thereby improving the browsing and shopping experience for a broadrange of on-line shoppers."
Point-of-Sale Improvements Staples will be adding tactile keypads to payment services devices throughout the chain. The new units will allow Staples shoppers who have difficulty reading information on a touch screen to privately and independently enter their PIN and other confidential information. Staplesstores in Massachusetts will have the new devices by September of this year.All stores in the country are scheduled to have the devices by the middle of next year.
The new devices are designed to protect the financial privacy of shoppers who are blind or visually impaired. The devices have tactile keys arranged like a standard telephone keypad and work in conjunction with Staples' existing point-of-sale terminals.
Blind community representatives praised Staples' plan to enhance its payment services devices. "Point-of-sale devices need to have keys with tactile markings so people who are blind do not have to ask for assistance or share their PIN with strangers," explained Kim Charlson of the Bay State Councilof the Blind. "This settlement, and the collaboration that led up to it,demonstrate Staples' understanding of this fact and its strong commitment to accessibility for blind and visually impaired customers."
About Staples Staples, the world's largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With 2008 sales of$23 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples serves businesses of all sizes and consumers in 27 countries throughout North and South America,Europe, Asia and Australia. In July 2008, Staples acquired CorporateExpress, one of the world's leading suppliers of office products to businesses and institutions. Staples invented the office superstore conceptin 1986 and is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples(Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at http://www.staples.com/.
About American Council of the Blind (ACB), Bay State Council of the Blind(BSCB) and California Council of the Blind (CCB)American Council of the Blind is a national consumer-based advocacyorganization working on behalf of blind and visually impaired Americansthroughout the country, with members organized through seventy state andspecial-interest affiliates. The Bay State Council of the Blind and theCalifornia Council of the Blind are the Massachusetts and California stateaffiliates of the ACB. ACB, BSCB and CCB are dedicated to improving thequality of life, equality of opportunity and independence of all people whohave visual impairments. Their members and affiliated organizations have along history of commitment to the advancement of policies and programs whichwill enhance independence for people who are blind and visually impaired.More information about ACB, BSCB and CCB can be found by visitinghttp://www.acb.org/, http://www.acb.org/baystate/, and http://www.ccbnet.org/.
About American Foundation for the BlindThe American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national non-profit thatexpands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities includebroadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information andtools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promotingindependent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing themand their families with relevant and timely resources. AFB is also proud tohouse the Helen Keller Archives and honor the over forty years that HelenKeller worked tirelessly with AFB. For more information visit us online athttp://www.afb.org/.
For More Information, Contact:
For ACB, BSCB, CCBMelanie Brunson, (202) 467-5081, mbrunson@acb.org
For AFBCaitlin McFeely, AFB Communications, (212) 502-7674, cmcfeely@afb.net
For StaplesOwen Davis, (508) 253-8468

RantWoman briefly visited the website and commends the very clean look. RantWoman was not in a position to order anything but recommends the concept.

RantWoman also notes the fervent hope that the Point of Sale devices include not only tactile buttons, but crisp clear, high-contrast print that can be read with less intrusive technology than an electron microscope. Okay, RantWoman can always hope.