In the lead-up to LGBTQ Pride Week, Disney has released a special edition Rainbow Mickey merchandise collection, complete with branded water bottles, hats, T-shirts and more. But before we get to the details, we have to provide some background.
A few weeks ago, we ran a related piece on a pair of branded Mickey Mouse ears that Disney put out in support of Pride Week. We have to admit that we were pretty skeptical at the time. Although it seemed like it could be a positive move by the entertainment behemoth in support of the LGBTQ community, we more or less called into question whether such a move could constitute a thinly veiled attempt to cover up its past offenses against untraditional communities. Regardless, we thought the ears were pretty cool, and left it there.
Until now, that is. The new Rainbow Mickey collection is a diversified assemblage of merchandise, all centered on an updated, rainbow-colored version of the iconic Mickey Mouse ears logo. This is some stylish merch, no doubt, and we expect to see plenty of folks wearing Rainbow Mickey gear during Pride Week celebrations. The hat-glasses-sleeveless-T-shirt-fanny-pack combo is a festival/summer classic, and this collection takes full advantage of it. Nice work, Disney.
Disney launches 'Rainbow Mickey' pride merchandise #NOH8 https://t.co/RmWMX2sfLf
— NOH8 Campaign (@NOH8Campaign) May 15, 2018
The best part of the whole deal, of course, is the fact that Disney is going to put its money where its mouth is with the collection. Until June 30, Disney is giving 10 percent of every Rainbow Mickey purchase to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an organization dedicated to making K-12 schools safe and inclusive for all students. The company has promised to donate as much as $50,000 to GLSEN.
If you ask us, this is a collection Disney fans and supporters of equality alike can agree with. If the above merch wasn’t enough for you, there’s also a series of Mickey-shaped pins in the mix. And remember, it’s for a good cause!
