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Royally Principled: 6 Disney Princesses Buy From B Corps

I thought that I would leave the Disney princesses behind when I became an adult, but the truth is that I still see a lot of them. Even if I’m not seeking out Frozen on the free movie channels, I still see the princesses all over Buzzfeed, my favorite guilty-pleasure site. Their stories span centuries and continents. Sometimes they perpetuate gender stereotypes, yet other times they defy them. The cast of characters sometimes seems overwhelmingly white, but recent moves towards racial diversity can be seen as promising [kinda].

Whether you find the girls appalling, appealing or abnormally proportioned, I think we can all agree that if they lived here-and-now, they would totally buy from B Corps. Here’s why.

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1. Cinderella Believes Deeply in Social Mobility

cinderella1

Jirka Väätäinen: Cinderella

As she slumbered next to a coal scuttle, Cinderella became convinced that people should have opportunities to support and advance themselves. While she personally supports herself by being married to a prince, I can see Cinderella spending her not-so-hard-won wealth with companies that help others find their own financial security and independence.

Here-and-now Cinderella adorns her castle in Prosperity Candles, made by women “recently resettled from refugee camps” who are “working to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.”

Having spent so much of her younger years keeping house, Cinderella doesn’t do her own house keeping. Also, there’s the princess thing. Still, she hires Immaculate Cleaning Services, which employs residents of Depaul House, a transitional program for homeless men. *Assuming she lives near Philly.

2. Jasmine Has a Weak Spot for the Formerly Incarcerated

jasmine1

Jirka Väätäinen: Jasmine

Despite her own social standing, princess Jasmine falls hard for Aladdin. While he’s quite charming and has the ultimate ride (magic carpet = 0 emissions + no traffic + easy parking), Aladdin has a few close brushes with the law and even ends up intermittently imprisoned!

In their life together, here-and-now Jasmine and Aladdin serve baked goods from Rubicon Bakery and Greyston Bakery at all of their dinner parties. Both companies hire persons with histories of incarceration, substance abuse and homelessness, and their mission to help them build brighter futures resonates with the couple.

The castle runs on energy from solar thermal collectors manufactured by Britec, a Chilean B Corp that employs inmates jailed in Santiago. Britec’s model allows inmates to support their families and teaches them useful skills that they can use after they’re released.

Jasmine also donates money to tiger protection because Rajah is VERY insistent about it. And at Abu’s request she’s going on this trip organized by Animal Experience International.

3. Princess Anna Is Fearless in the Face of Climate Change

Jirka Väätäinen: Anna

This one isn’t even a stretch – when Queen Elsa loses control of her cryokinetic powers and flees, Anna sets out to reconnect with her sister and put an end to the eternal winter.

Anna’s environmental activism doesn’t stop when the winter is undone by – wait for it – the warmth of love. After rescuing the kingdom of Arendelle, here-and-now Anna works with Origin Climate to measure and reduce her carbon footprint. She books all of her hotels through Trip Zero and for the rest of her non-renewable energy expenditures, she purchases offset credits from Renewable Choice Energy.

Anytime she moves, she has existing and prospective properties rated by Savenia Labs to measure their energy efficiency. Through unflagging persistence, Princess Anna fearlessly combats climate change, both Elsa-made and manmade.

4. Mulan Is a Huge Proponent of Gender Equality

Mulan is, pardon my language, the ultimate bad bitch. Instead of letting her elderly father go to war, she takes it upon herself to serve in his stead. Through her bravery and determination, she becomes a national hero and brings honor to her family. Bad. Bitch.

Jirka Väätäinen: Mulan

Here-and-now Mulan opens a combat school and turns to Womanetics for business advice (royal advisors were busy). Womanetics is an Atlanta B Corp that gives women tools and resources to boost their business’ success. When she wants to go shopping, Mulan looks at Buy The Change, an online retailer that sells goods handmade by women facing severe economic and social struggles all over the world. The women use the income to “gain safety, feed and educate their children, reduce dependency, and have hope for the future.” Mulan is a big fan of this mission.

She is also really happy that compared to other sustainable businesses, B Corps are 28% more likely to have women and minorities in management. Even the ancestors would be proud of that part!

5. Ariel Really Wants Us to Take Care of Our Oceans

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Jirka Väätäinen: Ariel

Mostly because she lives in them, I can see Ariel being deeply invested in the health of our oceans. She shops for outdoor apparel at United By Blue, a Philadelphia apparel brand that removes a pound of trash from the ocean for every item it sells. She gifts their products (excluding pants, of course) to her mer-family.

When it comes time to clean, Ariel probably chooses Ecover products, which use plant-based materials and minerals to clean things without putting such toxic chemicals into greywater. They also make their bottles out of 10% recycled ocean plastic.

While she wholeheartedly supports Sea to Table’s mission to help small-scale sustainable fisheries, she is not yet a customer (mostly because she doesn’t know how she would tell Flounder).

6. Belle Is All About Literacy

Belle

Jirka Väätäinen: Belle

Belle is a beautiful bookworm. She danced through town with a book in hand, frequented the bookshop and started to fall for the Beast when he offered her access to his library. It’s fairly obvious that today’s Belle shops at Better World Books, a book seller that donates books and money to support libraries, global literacy programs and education nonprofits.

If she happened to be living in California, she might work at Moving Forward Education, a B Corp dedicated to addressing academic and emotional needs in its community by combining mentoring and tutoring. She might also work for Education Funding Partners, a B Corp that secures company sponsorships for schools in need.

Regardless of where she resides, the bookish and brilliant Belle would share her love of literature with those around her. She might even open up some Little Free Libraries!

Based on the above examples, I think we can all agree that Disney princesses would be big supporters of specific B Corps and the B Corp movement in general [Click to Tweet!]. In case you’re not convinced, I’d like to present this quote in which Cinderella clearly condemns businesses that adhere to the profit-only mindset:

“Just because it’s what’s done, doesn’t mean it’s what should be done.”– Cinderella (Cinderella)

Case closed.

Did I leave out your favorite socially-minded heroine? Make it right and add her to the list in the comments below. 

*A special thanks to Jirka Väätäinen for allowing us to use his beautiful compositions to illustrate the characters. If you enjoyed his work, do yourself a favor and check out his website — it’s definitely worth a visit!

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Alison was RoundPeg's content marketing specialist though November 2016. We are sure she still spends her days seeking inspiration, writing inspired content, then trying to inspire other people to read it! When she isn't trying to save the world by the might of her pen, she hangs out with her dog Wall-E, reads contemporary literature and eats an impressive amount of chocolate.
Comments
  • Tiffany Jana
    Reply
     

    This is great! I think Princess Tiana would be a volunteer for my B Corp, TMI Consulting, Inc. TMI is headquartered in the US south and its mission is shifting diversity from a liability to an asset. We help individuals and communities have a voice. Communities are made up of all kinds, even frogs. 🙂

    • Alison
      Reply
       

      I love it! I haven’t seen “The Princess and the Frog” yet but now I totally want to. Kudos for your work supporting inclusivity and diversity — it’s s crucial now with certain strains of intolerance on the rise.

    • Alicia Agnew
      Reply
       

      I love it! Tiffany Jana beat me to it but I also think Princess Tiana would be a huge advocate for using local suppliers. As a restauranteur who loves her city, I could totally see her wanting to keep the dollar in the local community longer by showing preference to local suppliers. Certainly seems like a way to “dig a little deeper” and be a force for job creation in her community.

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