Japan Airlines Will Now Rent You Clothes So You Don’t Have To Pack!

The airline's new wardrobe rental service helps reduce luggage weight and carbon emissions.

Heading to Japan next year? You won’t need to pack your bags. Japan Airlines just launched a new initiative dubbed “Any Wear, Anywhere,” which allows passengers aboard JAL-operated flights the option to rent sets of clothing for the duration of their stay in the country, eliminating the need to pack. 

The primary goal is not a simple matter of convenience for the individual traveller. The clothing rental service first and foremost aims to reduce the weight of aircraft in the JAL fleet, thereby cutting down on the airline’s carbon emissions, the airline said in a statement. 

The weight of passenger's luggage, and cargo adds to the fuel consumption and carbon output for any given aircraft. For every 10 kilograms of weight cut from baggage on a flight from New York to Tokyo, for example, carbon emissions can be reduced by 7.5 kilograms, according to the site for the clothing rental service. 

Those interested in using the service should register on the program’s website a month in advance of their travels, inputting their JAL flight reference number and the address of their hotel or other accommodations, where the wardrobe sets will be delivered. The clothing rental period lasts for two weeks. Sumitomo Corporation will run the show, overseeing the procurement, delivery, and cleaning of clothes in the program.

The program will be run on a test basis through August 2024.