Mitigation of Environmental Impact in Products

Since September 2022, Mizuno has launched the Wave Neo Collection, our first running shoes designed to offset CO₂ emissions throughout the product's lifecycle (from raw material procurement to manufacturing, transportation, sales, use, and disposal). The Wave Neo Collection maintains the performance features of traditional running shoes suitable for full marathons while aiming to reduce environmental impact. These shoes reduce CO₂ emissions by using environmentally friendly materials such as recycled polyester and plant-derived materials, and by using non-dyed upper knit materials to conserve water resources and reduce environmental impact.
In August 2023, Mizuno released a new black color model, which uses dope dyed yarn for the upper knit material. This method reduces water usage in the dyeing process, further decreasing environmental impact.
Additionally, in collaboration with the National Forest Foundation in the United States, Mizuno planted approximately 100,000 longleaf pine trees in Chattahoochee, Georgia, between January and February 2022, and approximately 50,000 ponderosa and lodgepole pines in Boise, Idaho, between April and May 2023. The purpose of these afforestation projects is to absorb the CO₂ emitted during the life cycle of these shoes. These trees will continue to absorb atmospheric CO₂ for nearly 100 years. As a result, the CO₂ emissions from the global sales of the Wave Neo Collection (approximately 20,000 pairs) this fiscal year will be offset by the absorption through tree planting, making the product carbon neutral. With this initiative, the total number of trees planted by Mizuno related to the Wave Neo Collection has reached approximately 160,000.

Mizuno has disclosed information on balancing the carbon impact, which has been verified by a third-party organization, DNV Business Assurance Japan K.K.

Mizuno’s disclosure for balancing carbon impact

Third-party verification for balancing carbon impact

For baseball players, gloves are tools they ideally want to use for a long time. However, after years of use, gloves can become dirty, frayed, or torn. With proper care and repairs, it is possible to continue using a beloved glove for many years. Since 1977, Mizuno has been engaged in repair activities to mend damaged parts of gloves. We also conduct workshops where craftsmen travel to provide on-site repairs. This activity began in the United States in 1978. In recent years, we have also started repairing baseball spiked shoes in Japan. From April 2022 to March 2023, we repaired approximately 2,200 gloves and 2,500 pairs of spiked shoes in Japan, contributing to an estimated reduction of about 1.8 tons of waste.
Additionally, we are working to spread the repair activities by teaching the repair techniques that Mizuno has cultivated over many years to staff at our partner sports stores. Through these efforts, we are expanding the reach of repair activities. Furthermore, we aim to convey the importance of taking care of belongings to children through these repair activities.

*1 Number of repairs conducted in Japan

*2 According to Mizuno's research

Mizuno, in collaboration with the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) Group, has developed aluminum bats for children using recycled aluminum from the Tokaido Shinkansen. The JR Central Group has established a method for recycling the large amount of aluminum from decommissioned Tokaido Shinkansen cars and has obtained a patent for this process. This "Tokaido Shinkansen Aluminum" can reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 97% compared to the production of new aluminum.

With rising temperatures due to global warming, it is becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy outdoor sports such as running. To help preserve the environment so that sports can continue to be enjoyed, Mizuno is promoting recycling activities by collecting used apparel and utilizing it as a resource. At the Osaka Marathon 2024, held in February, Mizuno set up a collection box at the EXPO booth and accepted donations of used apparel for recycling.

Mizuno has started using dope dyed yarn in its Dry Aeroflow t-shirts, which are functional running apparel, in the autumn/winter season 2023. Dope dyed yarn refers to yarns that are colored at the raw material stage before they become threads. By weaving fabric using these dope dyed yarns, it is possible to simplify the general apparel dyeing process, reduce energy use, and conserve water resources.

Mizuno is therefore pleased to announce to change the outer packaging materials for official game balls supplied to the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB),Japan. The previous color-printed coated paper is being replaced by cardboard made from raw materials considerate of forest conservation and printed in a single color only. By doing this initiative, Mizuno will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from carton manufacturing by around 13.9 tons a year (approximately 66%)^*1. Mizuno will change the materials used for professional baseballs in Japan first, and then expand the scope of the change.

One of Mizuno's main products is wooden baseball bats. Since wood is a natural material, it may have knots or other imperfections, leading to the creation of offcuts that are unsuitable for use as bats during the manufacturing process. We constantly consider and try to transform them into new other products with using offcuts from wooden baseball bats which fail to meet the required strength and appearance standard on baseball bats.

Mizuno has donated 300 noncompliant-material bats to the Osaka Tennoji Zoo, Japan. These woods are used as perches for the sulphur-crested cockatoos, crossing posts for posts for the pig-tailed macaques, and fencing in the zoo. We hope the animals will feel the comfort that only natural materials can provide.

Mizuno baseball gloves are made from different parts that have been cut out from high-quality leather, with due consideration given to flexibility and durability, and that are then put together by seasoned craftspeople.
One issue arising from this manufacturing process was that, no matter what we tried, large amounts of leather scraps would be left over unused.
We started thinking about how we could reuse these scraps, instead of throwing them away, and came up with the idea of trying to “patch” them together to make gloves. The result was TSUNAGI Glove, a glove for rubber-ball baseball.
Our craftspeople’s skills made it possible to combine these many different scraps and still make a glove with the right shape and structure to securely catch a ball. Because they are made from a random assortment of scraps, each glove has its own unique design.