With the holiday shopping season coming up, we’re about to be bombarded with advertising from every business imaginable billing themselves as the best place to shop. Shots of glamorous people, happy families, adorable pets, and promises of ethical practices for people and the planet are common, but not always a good indication of a business’ true values.

In 2017, mom Laura Moore called out one popular British department store after their multi-million dollar holiday advertisement attracted lots of positive attention. She compared that to the reality of a friend who was shopping in the store with her severely disabled daughter who had to be laid on the bathroom floor because there were no restroom accommodations for her.

“While everyone is swooning over how wonderful the new @johnlewisretail advert is… just take a moment to look at this photo which was taken in one of their stores because they don’t provide #changingplaces for severely disabled people & refuse to do so. Priorities,” she wrote on Twitter in November 2017.

The post quickly went viral with over 1,600 shares and received plenty of media attention for the thought-provoking photo Moore posted.

Moore is one of the many voices behind the UK’s Changing Places campaign that advocates for those who can’t use standard accessible toilet facilities. According to their website, a specific set-up is needed in these cases:

“To use the toilet in safety and comfort, many people need to be able to access a Changing Places, which have more space and the right equipment, including a height-adjustable changing bench and a hoist.”

While John Lewis stores do have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, their response to Moore was that they were simply unable to accommodate any other equipment in their current retail spaces.

Frustrated, she shared a photo of what was required:

Moore also shared a drawing she received in response, illustrating the problem by Twitter user @PrettySDesigns:

Customers were understandably disappointed in the department store.

After being tagged on the post and in many replies, the store Tweeted back with the claim that the specs of the accessible design were simply not possible within the current infrastructure.

However, Moore shot back with the measurements and suggested that infant changing tables be adapted to suit children of all sizes.

While some were quick to judge parents who posted such a vulnerable photo of their child, many were eager to point out this problem is extremely important to bring awareness to and that it went far beyond just one department store.

Moore, whose own son William has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, posted a photo of him as well and told the Daily Mail:

“Manually lifting him [without a hoist] is unsafe and lying him on a toilet floor is unsafe, unhygienic, and degrading. I have been trying to get stores to provide facilities for William but have had no success.”

At the time, a John Lewis spokesperson replied to the controversy in the media by reiterating a lack of space but promising better facilities in the future:

“…we are reviewing the feasibility of putting hoists and changing benches in new department stores and including this in store refurbishment plans. We continue to work closely with shopping centre developers to influence the addition of these facilities in shopping centres.”

Despite years of advocacy, accessible bathrooms for the severely disabled remain a problem throughout the world. But viral posts like these bring awareness to the issues that the severely disabled face in private every day.

Scroll down below to see Changing Places’ own Christmas advert calling attention to the issue – “All I Want For Christmas Is A Loo.”

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Source: The Stir – Cafe Mom, Changing Places, The Independent, Daily Mail, Medium