Accessibility Statement

1. Our commitment

We want every part of this store to be usable by people with disabilities: browsing the catalogue, passing the age gate, reading a certificate of analysis, completing checkout and contacting support. Accessibility is treated as a functional requirement of the storefront, not as something to be fixed later.

This statement describes where the site stands today. It is written to be checked: it names the standard we work to, the measures taken, the limitations we know about and have not yet resolved, and the routes open to you if our answer is not good enough.

2. Conformance status

The target for this store is conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 at level AA. That is also the level referenced by the harmonised European standard EN 301 549 and by the accessibility requirements that apply to e-commerce services under Directive (EU) 2019/882.

The current status is partially conformant. Partially conformant means most of the site meets WCAG 2.2 level AA, but some content does not, either because of the known limitations listed in section 7 or because third-party content has not yet been brought up to standard.

We do not claim level AAA. Several AAA criteria are not proportionate for a storefront of this size, and claiming them would be misleading.

3. Measures we have taken

Accessibility work is built into the shared templates and the design system rather than bolted onto individual pages, so a fix applies across the whole catalogue and across all of the store's languages.

• Semantic markup: headings in order, landmark regions, lists marked up as lists, tables with real header cells, and a language attribute set per page so screen readers use the right voice
• Full keyboard operability: every control reachable and usable without a pointing device, no keyboard traps, a skip-to-content link, and a logical, predictable focus order
• A visible focus indicator on every interactive element, at a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against its background, never hidden behind the sticky header or the cookie bar
• Contrast targets of at least 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text, and 3:1 for icons, form borders and other non-text elements, verified in both the light and the dark theme
• Colour is never the only carrier of meaning: stock status, validation errors and laboratory pass or fail results also carry text or a shape
• Reduced-motion support: carousels, parallax and transitions are stilled when the system reports prefers-reduced-motion, and nothing flashes more than three times a second
• Text alternatives for images that carry meaning, with decorative images marked so assistive technology skips them
• Forms with persistent visible labels rather than placeholder text alone, required fields identified in words, errors described next to the field and announced, and autocomplete attributes on name, address and payment fields
• Layout that reflows to a 320 CSS-pixel viewport without a second scroll direction, and that survives 200 per cent zoom and increased text spacing
• Touch targets of at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels with adequate spacing, and no authentication step that depends on memorising a code or solving a puzzle

4. The age gate

The 21+ age gate is the first thing every visitor meets, so a barrier there is a barrier to the entire store. The gate is a standard dialog: it takes focus when it opens, keeps focus inside itself while it is open, is announced as a dialog, is fully operable from the keyboard, and states in text why the information is being requested.

The date-of-birth field accepts typed input as well as selection, does not depend on a drag interaction, and imposes no time limit. Failure messages explain in words what went wrong instead of turning a border red.

If the age gate blocks you for a reason connected to a disability — an assistive-technology conflict, or an input method the field does not accept — write to accessibility@vitalleafrx.com and we will complete verification another way, without asking for more information than the check itself requires.

5. Compatibility and technical specifications

The site relies on HTML, CSS, JavaScript and WAI-ARIA, and on the accessibility features of the browser and the operating system. Where JavaScript fails to load, core content and navigation remain readable, but checkout requires JavaScript.

We support the current and previous major versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop, and Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android on mobile. Older browsers may render the site with reduced styling; content and navigation should remain available.

6. Assistive technologies we test with

Automated tools catch only a minority of accessibility problems, so every release is also tested by hand, with the assistive technologies our visitors actually use.

• NVDA with Firefox and with Chrome on Windows
• JAWS with Chrome on Windows
• VoiceOver with Safari on macOS and on iOS
• TalkBack with Chrome on Android
• Keyboard-only navigation, with no pointing device connected
• Browser zoom at 200 and 400 per cent, plus operating-system text scaling
• Windows high contrast and forced-colours mode, and the site's dark theme
• Speech input with Voice Control and Dragon, to check that controls are named the way they look
• Automated scanning with axe-core in continuous integration, treated as a floor rather than as evidence of conformance

7. Known limitations

The following parts of the store fall short of the target. They are listed so that you can decide whether to use a workaround or to contact us, and each is stated with the action being taken.

• Payment iframes: card and wallet fields at checkout are rendered inside the payment provider's own iframe. We cannot change its markup, focus handling or contrast. Each defect has been raised with the provider, and in the meantime an alternative payment route is available on request from support@vitalleafrx.com
• Supplier product photography: some images come from producers with no descriptive alternative text. We are writing alt text ourselves, working through the catalogue in order of sales volume. Untreated images currently fall back to the product name, which identifies an item but does not describe it
• PDF certificates of analysis: laboratory reports arrive as PDFs that are often untagged, and a few older ones are scans with no text layer. They are not reliably readable by screen readers. On request we send the results for any batch as plain text or as an accessible HTML table — write to quality@vitalleafrx.com with the batch code
• Third-party review and map widgets: keyboard operability and contrast inside these components depend on the vendor. The equivalent information is available as text on the same page
• Older Journal articles: a small number of articles published before the current templates use images of text or skip a heading level. They are corrected as they are revised
• Video: recent product and process videos are captioned, a few older ones are not yet, and audio description is not currently provided

8. How this site was assessed

This statement is based on a self-assessment by our own team, combined with an external expert review of the checkout, the age gate and the product detail template. The most recent full assessment was completed on 15 June 2026 and covered the home page, catalogue, product detail, age gate, cart, checkout, account pages, the Journal and this policy library, in English and in German, so that translated content and longer strings were checked as well.

The method was manual testing against each WCAG 2.2 level AA success criterion, screen-reader walkthroughs of the full purchase journey from landing page to order confirmation, keyboard-only journeys, zoom and reflow checks, and automated scanning of every template in continuous integration.

Self-assessment has limits. We have not commissioned a formal third-party conformance audit and we do not hold a VPAT. We say so rather than implying an independent certification we do not have.

9. Feedback and how we respond

If any part of this store is not usable for you, tell us. Email accessibility@vitalleafrx.com, write to [REGISTERED ADDRESS], or telephone [TELEPHONE]. Where you can, give us the page address, what you were trying to do, and the browser and assistive technology you were using. An incomplete report is still worth sending.

We acknowledge reports within 2 working days and give a substantive answer within 10 working days. If a fix will take longer than that, the answer states what the fix is, when it is scheduled, and what workaround exists in the meantime. Where the barrier sits inside a third-party component we say so, and we give you a route that does not require it.

If a barrier stops you completing a purchase, we will take the order by email or telephone at the same price, with the same age verification, for as long as the barrier exists.

10. Enforcement and complaints

If our response is inadequate, you can escalate. Ask first for an internal review by writing to legal@vitalleafrx.com and quoting the reference from your original report. That review is carried out within 20 working days by someone who was not involved in the first answer.

In the European Union, accessibility requirements for e-commerce services are enforced by the national market surveillance authority designated by each Member State under Directive (EU) 2019/882 and its implementing legislation. You may complain to the authority in the country where you live, or to the authority in the country where we are established: [SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY]. National consumer bodies and the European Consumer Centres Network also take up complaints about online services.

In the United Kingdom, service providers owe a duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. Advice is available from the Equality Advisory and Support Service, and enforcement sits with the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Nothing in this statement limits any statutory right you have, or your ability to bring a claim in court.

11. Review and changes

This statement is reviewed at least once every 12 months, and in addition after any significant change to checkout, the age gate or the design system, and whenever a report from a visitor reveals a barrier this statement does not mention.

The date at the top of the page is the date of the last review. When a limitation in section 7 is resolved it is removed from the list; when a new one is found it is added, whether or not a fix is ready. The list is meant to be accurate, not flattering.