Ecorazzi

As the US Open kicks off this week in New York City, it seems that the green standards now expected of major concert events has not quite reached the tennis arena. However, Venus and Serena Williams, as well as Roger Federer can stand proud behind their Wilson racquets. Wilson Racquet Sports recently announced details of their new “Green Initiative,” a program committed to developing and implementing environmentally responsible products. According to the company:

“We felt a growing obligation to elevate our environmental focus and take some necessary steps to make a positive impact in several product areas,” said Jon Muir, GM of Wilson Racquet Sports. “We’ve been quietly working on implementing a number of important changes to our production and manufacturing processes over the past year, and we felt it was time to make both the industry and consumers aware of our Green Initiative. As an example, all PET Wilson tennis ball cans now contain a minimum of at least 25% post consumer recycled PET. For 2007 alone, Wilson anticipates this will result in a reduction of 330,000 pounds of landfill waste. Wilson will also change to environmentally-friendly packaging.

A bit ironic that the GM of Wilson Racquet Sports is named Jon Muir. Perhaps there is no connection to the original John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, but clearly this modern day manager felt a duty to his namesake:-) Kudos to Wilson for stepping up their game. We can only hope that other corporate sponsors and Grand Slam event organizers will take their lead. For all the latest tennis coverage, check out the US Open website.

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