Japan Airlines wants to help you leave your suitcase at home

15.09.2023 - 16:53 / edition.cnn.com

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CNN —Unsure what to pack from your wardrobe for a vacation to Japan? If you’re flying with Japan Airlines, the answer could be nothing at all.

Japan’s flag carrier has started a year-long trial of a service that allows travelers to book a set of clothes — covering different sartorial styles and seasons — and receive it at their hotel upon arrival. At the end of the stay the clothes are returned, to be washed and cycled back into the system.

Called Any Wear, Anywhere, the service runs through the end of August 2024 and Japan Airlines says it could cut carbon emissions by reducing the weight carried by its airplanes.

Any Wear, Anywhere estimates that about 22 pounds (10 kilograms) saved in luggage equals about 16.5 pounds (7.5 kilograms) saved in emissions — the equivalent of running a hair dryer 10 minutes a day for 78 days.

“I love traveling and I’ve been to many foreign countries, but I’ve always dreaded dragging around luggage or doing laundry abroad,” says Miho Moriya, who came up with the idea and manages Any Wear, Anywhere for Sumitomo, the Japanese company that handles reservations, deliveries and laundering of the clothes.

“When traveling, the three most important things for me are accommodation, food and clothing,” she adds. “When we travel abroad, there are hotels and restaurants that provide lodging and food on site, but not clothing. Why do we have to bring our clothes from home?”

Moriya submitted the idea for the service through an internal entrepreneurial challenge within her company, and she says that once it was approved, after a delay due to the pandemic, it took “many tries” to find an airline that was willing to support it.

Users of the service log onto the website and choose from a few options — women or men’s clothing; which season they’re for; smart or casual styling; the number of tops and bottoms; and dates for pickup and return. Their selections will be waiting for them at the hotel, for prices that range between $34 and $48 for the whole rental period.

All garments are either pre-owned or sourced from company overstock, although users can’t see this information about their selection. The service has been running since the start of July, and Moriya says that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “We have requests from all over the world and over 115 countries in total, even though we’re not doing any kind of promotion,” she says, adding