Sumitomo, JAL to rent clothes to Japan-bound passengers

Trading house Sumitomo Corp. and Japan Airlines will encourage passengers to pack less by renting clothes to visitors to Japan, seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting luggage weight on flights. Sumitomo will launch the Any Wear, Anywhere service Wednesday. The user enters flight information, length of stay, season and clothing sizes on the website at least a month in advance, and the garments will be sent to the hotel. Rentals will cost 4,000 to 7,000 yen ($28 to $48), depending on the number of items. The service will initially be limited to JAL flights until August 2024. If it proves popular, Sumitomo will consider expanding it to other carriers in the Oneworld alliance. Each kilogram of cargo weight cut from a flight between Tokyo and New York reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 0.75 kg through lower fuel consumption, according to JAL. The airline is working to transition to sustainable aviation fuel made from plant matter and waste cooking oil. But supply and cost hurdles remain, and the company is finding other ways to respond to pressure to shrink its carbon footprint. Sumitomo hopes to help cut down on clothing waste as well. The rental service will use excess inventory from apparel brands or used items, teaming up with dry cleaner Hakuyosha and Wefabrik, which runs a site through which clothing companies can sell overstock.<br/>