Japan Airlines To Rent Clothing To Passengers So They Travel Light

Japan Airlines has come up with an innovative scheme to reduce baggage weight and fly eco-friendly. While the airline cannot access enough sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), reducing the weight of the plane will then reduce its carbon emissions. Read on to find out more about the Any Wear, Anywhere service.

Any Wear, Anywhere on Japan Airlines

In an effort to reduce its carbon emissions, Japan Airlines has teamed up with one of the country’s largest corporations, Sumitomo. The partnership is set to offer a clothing rental service for travelers visiting Japan. The logic behind the new Any Wear, Anywhere service is to encourage passengers to pack light. Doing so will reduce the airline’s fuel consumption, along with the associated carbon emissions.

As noted by Financial Times, the scheme encourages passengers to pack their underwear and toiletries but rent clothing on arrival while ditching the suitcase.

How does it work?

Starting on Wednesday, July 5, passengers will be able to visit the Any Wear, Anywhere website to pre-book the clothing rental service. On the website, they will provide their flight information, clothing sizes, length of stay in Japan and the season, giving at least one month’s notice. The rented clothing will be sent directly to the traveler’s accommodation in time for their arrival.

Depending on the number of items, clothing rentals cost anything from ¥4,000 ($28) and ¥7,000 ($48). Meanwhile, passengers will be able to rent up to eight outfits to use for up to two weeks. Besides running the online reservation system, Sumitomo will also oversee the procurement, delivery and laundry of the clothing. It will do so in partnership with a dry cleaning company, Hakuyosha, and the clothing supplier, Wefabrik.

Trialing with Japan Airlines

Initially, the trial is to be limited to passengers arriving on Japan Airlines flights up until August 2024. Should the service turn out to be successful, Sumitomo could roll the scheme out to other oneworld carriers. Currently, the oneworld members flying into Japan are British Airways, American Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Japan Airlines and sustainable travel

Under Japan Airlines’ Vision 2030 program, the airline hopes to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). However, as currently, supplies are limited, the airline is seeking other ways to reduce its carbon footprint. The airline is actively recycling paper cups under its Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle program and is cutting down on the use of plastic.

Getting passengers to pack light might not sound like much, but reportedly, even small amounts of weight reduction can make a difference on long flights. According to Japan Airlines, each kilogram of weight taken away from a flight from Tokyo (HND) to New York (JFK) will reduce the plane’s carbon emissions by 0.75 kg.

Meanwhile, when using the scheme widely, it could prove to be very effective. The Japan National Tourism Organization states that 1.9 million foreign travelers visited Japan in May 2023. This reaches almost 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. A large influx of international travelers, along with the full reopening of Japan’s borders, could provide sufficient users of the Any Wear, Anywhere scheme to make a significant impact.

Meanwhile, Sumitomo also hopes this will help to cut down on clothing waste, by tackling the problem of so-called fast fashion. However, it remains to be seen how fashionable travelers will react to mass-produced, rented clothing.

Readers, would you be happy to leave your suitcase at home and wear rented clothing in Japan? Let us know by dropping a comment below.