Adaptive Apparel Accessibility: Market Barriers, Solutions, and Emerging Prospects

This paper presents an expanded critical review of the barriers that constrain the market accessibility of adaptive clothing. Using a systematic literature review (2017–2024) across Scopus/Web of Science/Google Scholar and selected industry reports, we thematically synthesize six domains—innovation–commercialization gap, retail and economic constraints, limited market awareness, design and production challenges, consumer–brand misalignment, and societal perceptions. We contextualize the review with disability prevalence (≈16% of the global population) and growing inclusion agendas, and we analyze global and Indian case studies (Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, Zappos Adaptive, Target’s Cat & Jack, Nike FlyEase, and emerging Indian initiatives). We propose research and policy pathways spanning participatory design, affordability models, sustainable production, and procurement/standards to mainstream adaptive clothing. The contribution is a consolidated framework that links user-centered design, retail strategy, and policy levers to commercial viability.