Responsible procurement with due respect for human rights

The Asia-Pacific region, where many of Mizunoʼs subcontracted factories are located, is generally considered a region of high concern in terms of human rights, labor conditions, and environmental issues.

At Mizuno, we believe that “good manufacturing” means not only delivering safe, high-quality, and reliable products, but also ensuring that production processes align with international standards for human rights, labor practices, and environmental responsibility. Based on this belief, we actively promote CSR procurement.

In particular, we recognize that respect for human rights is becoming increasingly important as we expand our business globally. Accordingly, we have identified “responsible procurement with respect for human rights” as one of our key Materiality themes and are working to address it.

In response to developments such as the EUʼs proposed regulation banning products made with forced labor, the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and Section 307 of the U.S. Tariff Act, we acknowledge the growing importance of identifying and managing human rights risks—even beyond our direct suppliers.This includes monitoring Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers who provide raw materials and components to our Tier 1 suppliers.

At Mizuno, we strive to identify potential human rights violations such as forced labor or discrimination through pre-assessments (pre-audits) conducted before entering business relationships, and through periodic audits of existing suppliers. At the same time, we recognize that audits alone are not sufficient to uncover all potential risks in the supply chain. Therefore, we view the implementation of an effective grievance mechanism as a critical tool to complement audits and address latent issues.

With further globalization of the supply chain, increased procurement from new overseas suppliers can also lead to risks related to human rights and labor safety. At Mizuno, by continuously ensuring the pre-evaluation of new suppliers, we aim to realize high-quality and stable procurement, expand our competitiveness, and increase sales opportunities for products and services that cater to ethical consumption.

Risks

• Human rights and labor safety risks due to procurement from new overseas suppliers

Opportunities

• Realization of high-quality and stable procurement and expansion of competitiveness by implementing pre-evaluation of new suppliers
• Expansion of sales opportunities for products and services that respond to ethical consumption

The Asia-Pacific region, where many of Mizuno's contract factories are located, is generally considered a region with major concerns in terms of human rights, labor, and environmental aspects. Mizuno has established the "Mizuno CSR Procurement Code of Conduct", which incorporates perspectives from ISO26000, an international guidance on social responsibility, and we convey our thoughts to our suppliers while also demanding their adherence to these principles.

For initiatives related to "Responsible procurement with due respect for human rights", please refer to the following.

Respect for Human Rights (Policies and Governance Structure)

Supply Chain Management

Suppliers manufacturing products for multiple brands are burdened with individual audits demanded by each brand, each requiring different points of compliance.There have been calls from these suppliers for improvements to mitigate these duplications of CSR audits. In response, industry associations and other initiatives have begun efforts to share information. Mizuno will continue to address issues such as mitigating duplication of CSR audits.