HELLO KITTY

How big is the Hello Kitty franchise?

Hello Kitty has enjoyed a massive presence in pop culture. She has been cemented as one of the world’s most famous characters and successfully marketed in practically any product and media. She started as a character on accessories and stationery. In fact, Sanrio originally used her to increase the appeal of unassuming products, following the observations of Sanrio founder, Shintaro Tsuji, on the success generated by simply adding cute designs to sandals. Hello Kitty’s first appearance was on a vinyl purse, and she is still marketed on merchandise but, now, she is the reason some products are created in the first place.

There have been multiple Hello Kitty animated series over the years, usually including an ensemble cast of other Sanrio characters and Hello Kitty’s relatives. Most animated series have targeted a pre-school audience with a simple story structure and three shows have opted to adapt popular fairytales, rather than producing original plots, perhaps due to the sparse characterisation of Sanrio characters in most media.

Most productions originate in Japan, with Japanese dialogue, and have been dubbed into other languages because of Hello Kitty’s global popularity, usually direct to video. Although past distribution methods have been through home media and television syndication, recent series are now published online, on YouTube, like Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures, with an appropriately shorter runtime for individual episodes.

Specialty Sanrio stores in high streets and shopping centres provide merchandise that wouldn’t have as much success in a general store, and have a greater appeal for fans of Sanrio characters with products that make sense inserting into a collection, notably plushies and figurines.

Hello Kitty establishments, like cafes, have been opened globally and offer a menu of sweet snacks designed like Hello Kitty or branded packaging. Cafés are also constructed in a bright pink palette and are plastered with cute patterns that feature major Sanrio characters, serving to reinforce the very cute atmosphere.

The Sanrio Puroland is a larg indoor theme park in Tama New Town, Tokyo, which challenged the Disneyland empire with their own cast of characters. It hosts attractions like a boat ride

(that has a story involving Sanrio characters preparing a party for Hello Kitty,) a walk through a manor decorated in Hello Kitty’s image, and live stage shows.

Hello Kitty’s global success has prompted numerous collaborations with popular companies and characters. These often feature Sanro’s cast of cute characters, maybe alongside characters from series like Doraemon, on promotional art or decorated on apparel collections. A common catalyst for these collaborations are anniversary celebrations between collaborators, because of the magnitude and strong reputation that Hello Kitty has throughout multiple generations, attracting numerous brands. Notable Hello Kitty collaborators includes Gundam, Pusheen, GIRL Skateboards, Nike, Puma, Swatch, and Pringles.

It’s clear that, with the enormous volume of Hello Kitty merchandise and Sanrio endeavours, you can find almost anything with Hello Kitty on it.

Every year an estimated seven million premature deaths internationally are caused by air pollution, according to the WHO. Whilst a seemingly large number, 99% of the global population still breathe air that exceeds WHO standards, and even in seemingly “green” cities of London, thousands of lives are still cut short by unhealthy air pollution levels.

In 2020, a landmark coroner ruling attributed the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah to “excessive air pollution” near her home in Lewisham, South London. One in three schools in London are close to roads with NO2 concentrations that are illegal. In fact, both Wetherby Senior’s sites, despite being inside three lowemission zones, have hazardously high levels of NO2, above the legal limit, according to 2019 data. These hazardous air levels cost the NHS an estimated £3.7 billion a year but the lack of awareness of the risks posed by harmful air levels, or rather being able to see palpable effects, has meant action has been slow and ineffective.

That is not to say that change is difficult or will have to be implemented over decades. Inter-governmental and even internal policies can result in clear decreases in air pollution levels. According to the WHO Ambient Air Quality database (AAQ), 11 of the 25 most polluted are in China, mostly in areas of high industrial development. In a study from the University of Notre Dame, researchers found that the total lockdown in China - which resulted in the suspension of work in all factories - resulted in a PM2.5 decrease of 29.7%, saving an estimated 24,000 deaths in the short-term alone, showing that even short-term measures can significantly improve air quality and save tens of thousands of lives.

PM2.5 is a measurement of tiny particulate matter that is generally released by exhausts and, whilst both NO2 and PM2.5 heighten the risk of pulmonary diseases, PM2.5 is generally agreed to be the most hazardous to health, especially in children. It’s why “idling”, where the car engine is on but the car is not moving, is illegal per the Highway Code. Both PM2.5 and NO2 are primarily released from combustion engines and are widely agreed to be highly detrimental to a child’s immune system, mainly in an increased probability of asthma. Despite these risks, 60% of drivers are unaware that idling outside schools is illegal and, alarmingly, more than a quarter admit to idling on the school run, according to research by Renault.

In fact, a 2019 report by King’s College London found primary school pupils are five times more exposed to air pollution on the school run than other times of day. That’s not to say London’s general air pollution is satisfactory: it isn’t, as seen above, and it’s part of the reason for mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposals to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the entire boundary of Greater London.

Air pollution has always been a key point in Sadiq Khan’s manifesto but it is simultaneously incredibly divisive, especially between the outer and inner London boroughs. There are a series of conflicting YouGov polls, with some showing broad opposition to the plans: confusingly, Conservative commissioned surveys show a large