Sunflower lanyard (hidden disabilities)

How to read it

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower began at Gatwick Airport in 2016 and is run by Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Limited, a private company based in the UK. The symbol comes on lanyards, wristbands, pin badges and cards. The scheme describes it as a way for the wearer to share, voluntarily, that they have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent, in shops, at work, on transport or in public spaces. It says non-visible disabilities can be temporary, situational or permanent, and lists them as neurological, cognitive and neurodevelopmental, as well as physical, visual and auditory, sensory and processing difficulties, respiratory conditions, and chronic health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders. There is no qualifying list: the scheme says wearers choose it themselves, and that the symbol is meant to prompt the question “How can I help you?”.

Also searched as: green lanyard with sunflowers, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, sunflower lanyard meaning.

How it started at Gatwick

By 2016 Gatwick Airport’s accessibility team was assisting over 500,000 passengers a year, and, in the scheme’s own account, recognised that some of them had a non-obvious disability. With the Airport Passenger Advisory Group, the team asked charities, among them the Alzheimer’s Society, the National Autistic Society, Visualise and Autism Support Crawley, whether a symbol would help, how it should look, and which colours or patterns to avoid. The lanyard launched at Gatwick in May 2016. Milton Keynes University Hospital’s account adds that as other organisations took it up, Gatwick gave permission for anyone to use it. Tabbers Limited later trademarked the scheme’s name, and it is now part of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Limited. It marked ten years in 2026.

Why a sunflower

The scheme says it wanted a discreet sign that could be seen from a distance, and chose a sunflower because it suggests happiness, positivity, strength, growth and confidence and is universally known. Its history page puts it as the confidence, growth and strength shown by people with hidden disabilities. The older language of flowers read the sunflower differently: Henrietta Dumont’s 1851 flower dictionary gives it “false riches”.

Where you’ll see it

The scheme lists airports, railways, coach and bus services, ferries, universities, schools and colleges, healthcare, central and local government, football teams, theme parks, theatres and financial institutions among its members. In the UK its history names all the major airports, rail companies, NHS trusts and GP surgeries, Border Force, and supermarkets: M&S was the first to roll it out in every UK store, and Sainsbury’s, Argos and Tesco also launched it. Only businesses that subscribe as members count as “Sunflower-friendly”, and the scheme says they commit to training their whole workforce.

The scheme’s own figures vary from page to page. As its site gave them in September 2026:

At Gatwick the lanyards are handed out at the Assisted Travel desks. In the United States, Dallas Fort Worth and Salt Lake City are among the airports that give them out.

What it does not mean

The lanyard is not proof of a disability, and the scheme does not ask for any. Its facts page says that wearing the Sunflower is a personal and voluntary choice, that wearers do not need to provide proof or explain why you are wearing it, and that it is open to anyone who feels they may benefit from extra support, whether their disability is visible, non-visible or both. Gatwick’s page says its staff will not know what a wearer’s particular disability is.

Nor is it a pass. The scheme says it does not automatically give priority access, fast-track services or a place at the front of a queue, and Gatwick says the lanyard does not offer fast track or queue jumping. Dallas Fort Worth Airport says its Sunflower program is not designed to get round security measures or airline procedures.

Look-alikes

Sunflower lanyards sold outside the scheme’s own shops and authorised charities are, in the scheme’s words, counterfeit or copycat versions, and it says only the official design is recognised quickly everywhere. The scheme also sells an “I support” range, which it says is worn to show understanding of the Sunflower.

Transport for London’s “Please offer me a seat” badge and card are a different scheme, for people who struggle to stand on TfL’s Tube, buses, trains, trams and river services. Like the Sunflower, it needs no explanation, and TfL says the badge and card do not promise a seat.

The TSA Notification Card used at US airport security works the other way round. The traveller writes on it the health condition, disability or medical device that may affect their screening, and the card states that presenting it does not exempt them from screening.

Differences by country

The scheme has launched locally in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, the UAE and the USA, among others; its UK site is for UK and Crown Dependencies residents only.

Brazil and Uruguay have written the sunflower into law. Brazil’s Law 14.624, signed on 17 July 2023, formalised the ribbon with sunflower designs as the symbol identifying people with hidden disabilities. Its use is optional and rights do not depend on it. Where the scheme says no proof is needed, the Brazilian law says the symbol does not replace a document proving the disability when one is asked for. Uruguay’s law of December 2025, amending Law 18.651, allows the voluntary use of the “collar de girasoles” (sunflower lanyard) to be promoted, with no obligation and no condition on anyone’s rights.