Sustainable travel is trending and the travel industry is on board. Recently, a travel survey conducted among 33,000 travellers across 35 countries revealed that "76% of global travellers want to travel more sustainably" this year. Japan Airlines (JAL) has been quick to respond to the trend in a new and innovative way. The airline is launching a new clothing rental service for passengers to reduce carbon emissions by lightening baggage weight on its aircraft. Its trial "Any Wear, Anywhere" clothing rental service will allow all international travellers on JAL-operated flights to rent apparel during their stay in Japan allowing them to lighten their baggage load. Sumitomo Corporation will run the rentals and be responsible for procuring, delivering, and laundering all the clothes, as mentioned on their website.
Travel Fashion Could See A New Day
How all of this will affect travel fashion is unclear but the prospects are promising. Travel fashion is all about lightweight, wrinkle-free, quick-dry, comfortable, clothes. Needless to say, this spells compromise for fashionistas everywhere, not to mention the weather changes when crossing state and country borders that could put more than a few chinks in the chain of fashion lovers who are all about variety in colour and style. Less must find a way to be more in a fashionista's travel fashion diary, and finding creative combinations from fewer options is how the dressing game plays out unless excess baggage is availed of. But if JAL's trial foray into the fashion world is successful, fashion enthusiasts will soon breathe a sigh of relief. JAL will collect data over the 13-month experimental period of the apparel rental service to determine if the scheme is in fact reducing the baggage weight of the passengers.
"JAL will obtain the clothes from the excess stock of apparel and pre-owned clothing, promoting the concept of a circular economy. Not only does renting clothing for vacation allow you to try new styles without commitment, but it also helps you pack more consciously and saves valuable time on laundry when you're back home," says the Sumitomo Corporation press release.
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How Does Reduced Baggage Help The Environment?
The Anywear Anywhere store claims that with every 10kg reduction in a flight passenger's luggage, 7.5 kgs of Carbon Dioxide Emissions are reduced, which they equate to not using a hairdryer for 78 days (assuming 10 mins per drying session). This Quora user quotes a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2021 which cites that "the fuel burn increase per kilogram of extra weight carried on a flight is estimated to be around 0.1-0.2%. So if a passenger checks in a 20 kg bag, the additional fuel consumption for the flight would be around 2-4% of the total fuel burn for that flight."
Air travel carbon emissions are a major contributor to the globe's overall emissions and Japan Airlines is one in a series of Airlines responding to the sustainable travel demands of their customers. According to ANI, Air India recently adopted TaxiBots which could potentially save 15000 tonnes in fuel consumption over the next three years, Swiss Air is bringing solar fuels to market, Alaska Airlines went strawless, composting grounds from coffee served in flight and uses sustainable biofuel, Delta Airlines has reportedly reduced all single-use plastic items from their flights. which is estimated to remove over 300,000 pounds of plastic waste each year.
The "Any Wear, Anywhere" clothing rental service, may be a small move but one that could have a ripple effect that improves sustainability in both the fashion and travel industries.
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