Making use of wooden bats made of noncompliant materials – Cooperation with Toyonaka City

Mizuno’s wooden baseball bats are made by craftsmen who carefully shave down the wood whilst repeatedly making minute adjustments. But even when a piece of wood seems fine at first glance, as it gets shaved down knots can be found. Knots can cause a bat to break when in use, therefore bats with knots cannot be sold as they are made of noncompliant materials, and are normally disposed of.

In order to reduce waste like this, Mizuno has been working to effectively use such noncompliant materials.

Mizuno has donated approximately 200 of these bats to Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture, the birthplace of high-school baseball in Japan. They were used at a local event where children could experience painting bats. A technician from Mizuno Technics was also dispatched and gave a presentation on how to shave a bat, thereby providing an opportunity for career education so that children could learn about various professions and expand their choices for future careers. This initiative also links to Mizuno’s sustainability activities through lowering its environmental impact by reducing waste.

Mizuno will continue to collaborate with various partners and contribute to realizing a sustainable society.