After the recent wave of mass shootings in America, it's no surprise that a Houston manufacturer would think of making bulletproof backpacks for kids to take to school. What's interesting is they've made these backpacks with popular characters to entice children, and Disney (plus some other studios) want to put a stop to it.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Houston manufacturer TuffyPacks, has been asked by Disney to stop using their characters on their merchandise. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement:
"None of these products were authorized by Disney, and we are demanding that those behind this stop using our characters or our other intellectual property to promote sales of their merchandise."
TuffyPacks has made some of their products with Marvel characters as well as Disney princesses from Jasmine to Rapunzel. They've also made other themes like Harry Potter, Major League Baseball, and Camo. These ballistic shields are worth about $129 each.
Aside from Disney, a WB spokesperson has come to address the use of Harry Potter on the designs. They say, "These are not official Harry Potter products, and are in no way endorsed, licensed or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly, by Warner Bros."
With the recent school shootings in El Paso and Dayton, a lot of parents are said to be suddenly interested in keeping their kids safe with these backpacks/backpack inserts. TuffyPacks CEO Steve Naremore also had this to say about his product:
"You're going to have some people who say it's a great idea and others who say this is really sad… I understand that thought process. It may not be for everyone. You have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. You hope you don't have to use it."
We don't know how this is all going to go down eventually, but for anyone interested, you can get the TuffyPacks with the special designs on their official website.
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