Face masks are hardly fun, but neither is the coronavirus pandemic.
They aren’t stylish or cute — unless you’ve made one yourself — but they certainly are useful, especially when you’re caught in a public space where you can’t maintain a healthy physical distance from others. They keep you from spreading COVID-19, and help to flatten the curve.
Now Disney has solved the problem of plainness, unveiling a line of reusable cloth ones that feature designs of some of the most beloved characters from their movies.
And they’re adorable.
“We realize this is a challenging time for families and wearing any type of mask can be daunting,” Edward Park, the senior vice president of the Disney store, announced in a statement on the Disney Parks blog. “Our hope is that Disney’s cloth face masks … will provide comfort to the families, fans and communities that are so important to us.”
The masks will be sold in packs of four, and are available in small, medium and large sizes. There are six sets to choose from. You can choose Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Disney Princess and Marvel bundles. Sure to be popular are the one with Baby Yoda sipping from a mug, and the one featuring Forky, from the most recent Toy Story.
And all the proceeds from mask sales will go to a good cause.
Disney will be donating up to $1 million in US profits to MedShare — a humanitarian aid organization that recovers surplus medical supplies and redistributes them to hospitals in need — and has already donated 1 million masks.
“Disney’s donations will make a tremendous impact in the communities we serve,” Charles Redding, CEO and president of MedShare, announced in a statement on the Disney Parks blog. “Their contribution of one million Disney cloth face masks will be provided to families in underserved communities and organizations working to limit the spread of COVID-19, while their monetary donation will be used to support the medical community’s ongoing efforts to provide lifesaving care to those who need it most.”
You can pre-order the face masks on shopDisney.com, and they’re projected to ship sometime in June. They align with FDA recommendations on non-surgical masks, but Disney has made it clear that they’ve not been FDA approved, and shouldn’t be used “in a clinical setting where the infection risk level through inhalation exposure is high.”
The CDC still recommends that face coverings should fit snugly against the face, be secured with ties, and include multiple layers of fabric.