Accessibility Statement

Last updated on February 6 2026

Accessibility Statement regarding the Palais des Thés Website.

This is an accessibility statement from Palais des Thés.

Measures to support accessibility

Palais des Thés is committed to improving digital accessibility and offering an inclusive experience to all users. Since early 2023, we have launched a dedicated accessibility roadmap for our websites, with the support of Tanaguru, a French agency specialized in digital accessibility.

The following actions have been implemented as part of this initiative:

Including accessibility as part of our mission statement
Providing continual accessibility training for our teams
Assigning clear accessibility goals and responsibilities
Integrating accessibility into our digital roadmap
Collaborating with a specialized agency (Tanaguru) to guide our improvements
Conducting functional accessibility audits and workshops (UX, technical, strategic)
Implementing accessibility fixes across key templates and journeys
Planning further evaluations and enhancements in the coming years

This is a progressive approach, based on evaluation, correction, and continuous improvement.

Conformance status

The website https://us.palaisdesthes.com/en_us/ is currently not compliant with the French accessibility standard RGAA 4.1.

An additional full audit is currently taking place to expand the current scope, and update our accessibility action plan accordingly.

Inaccessible content

Criteria 1.2 : Are decorative images properly ignored by assistive technologies?
Criteria 1.3 : For each informative image that has a text alternative, is the alternative appropriate (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 3.1 : On each web page, is information not conveyed by color alone?
Criteria 3.2 : On each web page, does the contrast between text color and background color meet accessibility requirements (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 3.3 : On each web page, do the colors used in user interface components or informative graphical elements provide sufficient contrast (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 5.3 : For each layout table, does the linearized content remain understandable?
Criteria 5.8 : Does each layout table avoid the use of elements intended for data tables?
Criteria 6.1 : Is each link purpose clearly identifiable (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 6.2 : On each web page, does each link have an accessible name?
Criteria 7.1 : Is each script, where applicable, compatible with assistive technologies?
Criteria 7.3 : Is each script operable via keyboard and any pointing device (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 7.4 : For each script that triggers a change of context, is the user informed in advance or given control?
Criteria 7.5 : On each web page, are status messages properly exposed to assistive technologies?
Criteria 8.6 : For each web page with a page title, is the title meaningful and descriptive?
Criteria 8.9 : On each web page, is markup not used solely for presentation purposes?
Criteria 9.1 : On each web page, is information structured through the appropriate use of headings?
Criteria 9.2 : On each web page, is the document structure logical and consistent (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 9.3 : On each web page, is each list correctly structured?
Criteria 9.4 : On each web page, is each quotation correctly identified?
Criteria 10.1 : On the website, are style sheets used to control the presentation of information?
Criteria 10.2 : On each web page, does visible informative content remain available when style sheets are disabled?
Criteria 10.3 : On each web page, does content remain understandable when style sheets are disabled?
Criteria 10.6 : On each web page, is each link whose purpose is not obvious visually distinguishable from surrounding text?
Criteria 10.7 : On each web page, is the focus indicator visible for each focusable element?
Criteria 10.8 : On each web page, are hidden contents intended to be ignored by assistive technologies?
Criteria 10.9 : On each web page, is information not conveyed solely by shape, size, or visual position?
Criteria 11.1 : Does each form field have an associated label?
Criteria 11.2 : Is each label associated with a form field meaningful and relevant (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 11.5 : In each form, are fields of the same type grouped together where appropriate?
Criteria 11.6 : In each form, does each group of related fields have a legend?
Criteria 11.7 : In each form, is each legend associated with a group of related fields meaningful and relevant?
Criteria 11.9 : In each form, is the accessible name of each button meaningful (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 11.10 : In each form, is input validation implemented appropriately (except in specific cases)?
Criteria 11.13 : Can the purpose of each input field be programmatically determined to support autofill with user data?
Criteria 12.3 : Is the “site map” page relevant and usable?
Criteria 12.8 : On each web page, is the tab order logical and consistent?
Criteria 12.11 : On each web page, are additional contents displayed on hover, focus, or activation of an interface component accessible via keyboard where required?
Criteria 13.9 : On each web page, is content usable regardless of screen orientation (portrait or landscape), except in specific cases?

Additional accessibility considerations

Despite current non-conformities, significant improvements have been made since 2023:

Improved VoiceOver and screen reader compatibility
Reworking of navigation structure, tab order, and skip links
Redesign of core components (menu navigation, banners, search bar) to support their accessibility
Color contrast and hierarchy adjustments for better visual comfort
Accessible forms (account creation, login, checkout fields)
Technical corrections applied across multiple pages (see details below)

These improvements were guided by audit results and expert workshops.

Feedback

We value your feedback and welcome reports on any accessibility barriers you may encounter while using our website https://us.palaisdesthes.com/en_us/.

You can contact us via:

Phone: +1 (212) 813-2882
E-mail: contact@palaisdesthes.com
Postal Address: 107 Spring Street 2nd floor - New York, NY 10012
Online form: https://us.palaisdesthes.com/en_us/contact/

We aim to respond within 48 hours.

Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology

The Palais des Thés website is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:

Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Assistive tools: VoiceOver, NVDA, JAWS support
Keyboard-only navigation (in progress)

Limitations may occur with:

Disabled firewall/JS may break certain functionalities (carousels, sliders)
Older versions of mobile SLT (< iOS 14, Android 10)

Technical specifications

Accessibility of the Palais des Thés website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

HTML, CSS, Javascript
WAI-ARIA / Aria live regions

These technologies are essential for meeting the specified accessibility standards.

Limitations and alternatives

Despite our efforts to ensure accessibility of Palais des Thés's website, there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known limitations, and potential solutions. Please contact us if you observe an additional issue to the below.

Known limitations for Palais des Thés:

Partial audit only: The September 2024 audit covered 5 sample pages (homepage, category page, product page, cart, login).
Checkout: This flow has not yet been audited due to its complexity but will shortly be examined as the next step in our accessibility journey.
Third-party features: Some widgets and external modules may not be fully accessible.

Please contact us if you encounter an issue not listed here.

Assessment approach

Accessibility of the Palais des Thés website has been evaluated through:

A partial RGAA 4.1 audit conducted in September 2024
Internal testing and implementation of accessibility fixes
Ongoing collaboration with our partners and development teams

Formal approval of this accessibility statement

This statement was created on 21 July 2025 using the W3C Accessibility Statement Generator Tool and enriched with internal documentation and accessibility actions carried out by Palais des Thés.

More about Palais des Thés and Accessibility

Our commitment to improving website accessibility

At Palais des Thés, our mission has always been to make tea accessible to everyone. This commitment extends beyond our boutiques and products, and this applies to our website as well. To us, accessibility is not only a legal requirement, it is above all a matter of inclusion and respect for all our customers.

The turning point

In 2021 as well as in 2023, we received feedback from customers highlighting the difficulties faced by people with disabilities when trying to navigate our website or complete a purchase. These complaints pointed out issues such as :

The inability for blind users to access the shopping cart and checkout
Missing alt text on images
Inaccessible drop-down menus
Lack of navigation links and keyboard access
Form labeling issues

First step: working with experts

In early 2023, we began with a first audit conducted by a U.S. partner to identify the main obstacles. Soon after, we decided to take a more structured approach and partnered with Tanaguru, a French company specialized in digital accessibility. With this agency, we carried out several key steps :

Awareness workshop (February 2023) to engage our teams
Functional and UX audit to identify barriers
Strategic and technical workshops (March–May 2023) to plan concrete improvements
Partial audit (September 2024) on 5 key pages (homepage, category page, product page, cart, login).

Concrete improvements so far

Since 2023, our design, development, and e-commerce teams have implemented many accessibility fixes, including :

Making the main navigation menu fully accessible
Improving color contrast and keyboard navigation
Enhancing accessibility throughout the checkout process (delivery, payment, forms)
Adding alt text to images and structural elements for screen readers
Creating a new accessible slider on the homepage
Improving VoiceOver support and focus management across key interactions.

What's next ?

Our main purpose is to progress step by step. So far, we have managed to reach our goal to publish an accessibility statement on our US website by June 2025 to highlight the progress made so far and are now working towards the next updates.

We understand accessibility needs to be perceived as an ongoing journey, not a one-time project.