Mitigation of Environmental Impact in Products

Toward the achievement of its medium- to long-term environmental targets, Mizuno conducts life cycle assessment (LCA) for representative products in each product division. They analyze and understand the environmental burden throughout the entire life cycle of the products, from the procurement of raw materials to disposal, and promote the mitigation of the environmental burden across the entire life cycle.
On procuring raw materials, Mizuno selects recycled materials and plant-based materials. It is also committed to extending the lifetime of its products by increasing their durability and providing high-quality maintenance and repair services.

In September 2022, Mizuno launched the Wave Neo Collection, the company’s 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 as raw materials, and by using non-dyed upper knit materials to conserve water resources and reduce environmental impact.
Furthermore, in collaboration with the National Forest Foundation in the United States, Mizuno planted approximately 100,000 long pine trees in Chattahoochee, Georgia, between January and February 2022. The purpose of this afforestation project is to absorb the CO₂ emitted during the life cycle of these shoes. These trees will continue to absorb atmospheric CO₂ for nearly 90 years. As a result, the CO₂ emissions from the global sales of the Wave Neo Collection in this fiscal year will be offset by the absorption through tree planting. This initiative marks the first time in Mizuno’s history that a product has been developed to offset CO₂ emissions.

Mizuno has disclosed information for balancing the carbon impact.And it 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 further information,
visit, https://corp.mizuno.com/en/sustainability/environment/waveneocollection

At Mizuno, due to the wide variety of products, it is difficult to list all the types of raw materials used in manufacturing. Therefore, we report on the main raw materials used in our major products, such as shoes and apparel. These materials include plant-derived and recycled materials.

Shoes: We utilize recycled polyester for the upper part, plant-derived materials (Pebax® Rnew® / Rilsan®) for the WAVE PLATE, non-dyed upper knit materials, and algae-based materials called "BLOOM" for the midsole and insole, among others.

Apparel: We use materials recycled from PET bottles, plant-derived synthetic fibers, biodegradable synthetic fibers, and materials reused from rice husks, among others.

On the other hand, we are also advancing efforts in recycling, reusing, and regenerating raw materials, products, and packaging materials. For example, we have started using materials regenerated from discarded plastic films and used PET bottle caps for the packaging of some domestically produced sports apparel. We will gradually transition to this recycled material starting from June 2022, and within a year, we plan to switch the packaging for about 1.04 million apparel products to this recycled material. As approximately 98% of the material per package will be regenerated, we anticipate a reduction of 29.6 tons in CO₂ emissions annually.

Mizuno collaborated with Ito En Ltd. (hereinafter, Ito En) in developing an artificial turf filler named "Field Chip G (Greentea)," and it did so by using Ito En’s used tea leaf recycling system.^＊1

Producing enough Field Chip G to cover an entire long pile artificial turf soccer field requires using used tea leaves worth 430,000 pet bottles of Ito En’s 525 ml sized Oi Ocha green tea. Used tea leaves contain carbon dioxide absorbed by their trees. Therefore, covering an entire soccer field with Field Chip G made from used tea leaves would enable reducing about 4.3 t-CO₂of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.^＊2 In addition, Field Chip G does not smell like rubber and allows reducing the increase of surface temperature by about 7°C compared to that of black rubber chip fillers.

Field Chip G is currently used in the following places, helping protect the environment and making artificial turfs more comfortable: 1) the Play Ground of Mizuno’s after-school care facility "Asolete AFTER SCHOOL" (in Tokyo), 2) a part of the Tokiwabashi area currently under development (in Tokyo), 3) Kashihara Athletic Park (in Nara Prefecture), and 4) the soccer field at Teikyo Nagaoka High School (in Niigata Prefecture).

＊1 Used tea leaf recycling system

＊2 The carbon content was measured using Yanaco Technical Science Corporation’s Yanaco HCN Coder MT-700 HCN.

Mizuno currently helps workers in various industries, including the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries, work comfortably by applying the functionality that it has acquired in the sports industry to offering corporate uniforms. Companies have recently come to recognize the importance of valuing their employees’ health from the perspective of company management and have begun paying more attention to the need for strategic health management. Accordingly, more companies now place importance on the safety and comfort of the uniforms that they ask their employees to wear. In addition, to help companies become more environmentally friendly, Mizuno uses environmentally friendly materials, such as recycled polyester and plant-derived polyester, and it also recycles used uniforms. Recycled uniforms are recycled as industrial materials, such as car interior material and polyester fiber.

Mizuno conducts research into the development of nonpetroleum-derived raw materials as a substitute for petroleum-derived raw materials. Mizuno currently puts effort into conducting research into the development of plant-derived raw materials, and it sees nanomaterials, such as cellulose nanofibers, as being promising candidates.

Of the entire amount of GHG emissions that Mizuno’s business activities currently generate, indirect emissions that fall into the category of Scope 3 account for about 97%. Particularly, because about 80% of those indirect emissions are related to purchased products and services, Mizuno recognizes the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through their products. We will continue to promote product planning and development aimed at reducing GHG emissions.