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Renting clothes on vacation trips isn’t the sustainability solution we need

Japan Airlines is trialling a way for passenger to rent clothes on their holiday.

Japan Airlines is trialling a way for passenger to rent clothes on their holiday. Photo: Getty

Packing your bags before setting out on a holiday could be a thing of the past thanks to trial service set up by an airline, but exerts are cynical.

Last month, Japan Airways started the trial of a service called Any Wear, Anywhere, which was pitched as a way to promote sustainable tourism.

Instead of packing their bags and checking them at the airport, travellers to Japan can use the service to rent clothes while abroad.

The concept of the service is therefore to provide a travel experience with minimal luggage by offering clothing rentals at the destination, thereby creating environmental value,” Japan Airways said.

“By expanding the use of the service we aim to create an environment where travellers can use local options for all aspects of their clothing, food, and accommodation, transforming travel and business trips into more sustainable experiences.”

The trial will run through to August 2024.

Dr Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, a senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of South Australia, specialises in human rights and sustainable tourism. She’s in two minds about the Any Wear, Anywhere trial.

She recognises it could be beneficial. She herself is disabled and she shared with The New Daily that it would be convenient for her if she didn’t have to pack a whole lot, which a service like this would avoid.

Accessing a wardrobe in a different country that might have different designs also interests her. However, she notes that renting clothes isn’t for everyone due to size, needs and personal preferences.

In terms of sustainability, Dr Higgins-Desbiolles is pretty sceptical.

Climate fears felt by airlines

Genuine fears about how climate change will impact our planet and  lives are most likely being observed by airlines – and they could be sensing they might be in danger of having operations crimped in the interest of the environment.

So the question Dr Higgins-Desbiolles has is this: is this Japan Airways service a genuine attempt to make travel more sustainable, or is it a distraction from a bigger issue? In our climate-crisis world, the reality is that air travel needs to be reduced, as it is unsustainable.

“I’d be interested in quantifying the environmental impact because, if [Japan Airlines is] reducing the luggage to deal with emissions, then that’s good,” Dr Higgins-Desbiolles said.

“I hope they’re not going to pile more people on the plane though, because you’ve reduced the weight that the luggage.”

Any Wear, Anywhere says emissions can be reduced by up to 7.5kg per person, by travelling with less than 10kg of luggage.

There is a way this initiative could be genuinely meaningful in terms of sustainability, she said. That would be through educating consumers on reducing consumption.

“So that it just doesn’t become advertising for Japan Airlines being trendy, but you actually tell people ‘you need to be thoughtful about how often you fly by air’,” she said.

To be fair, Any Wear, Anywhere does list information about clothing and sustainability on its website.

Any Wear, Anywhere can reduce fuel and CO2 emissions from airplanes by reducing the amount of cargo carried,” its website says.

“In addition, our service can extend the life of clothes by using clothes destined for disposal as rental items.”

The problem beyond the airlines

Sometimes, in preparation for a holiday, some people will go out and buy all new items to wear on their escape.

While Any Wear, Anywhere could prevent people consuming more, at least before the holiday, it doesn’t address the overarching issue of over-consumption.

Dr Higgins-Desbiolles says that people need to be educated about how harmful the fashion industry truely is.

“The industry belches out 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, more emissions than the shipping and aviation industries combined,” the Climate Council said.

“And a 2021 report from the World Economic Forum identified fashion, and its supply chain, as the planet’s third-largest polluter (after food and construction), releasing 5 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

Dr Higgins-Desbiolles is closely monitoring the climate crisis and is about to write more about how it will impact travel.

“It’s so depressing. It’s actually hard to write about the future of tourism when we face collapse … people don’t want to say this,” she said.

“You know, we really are in existential times, and spending of our limited resources on tourism is not essential. We are going to have to change.”

She says our actions need to be intentional efforts to prevent over-consumption.

“All of these things we do have an impact either through emissions or through taking land for growing the cotton impacting biodiversity. It’s all kind of connected,” she said.

Just like travelling, buying things is an escape for some, Dr Higgins-Desbiolles acknowledges, however, individually, everyone can do their part to be more mindful with their purchases.

However, the burden can’t fully be on consumers.

“These things are parts of the puzzle, but strategically, we need governments and corporations to be doing the big picture stuff because they’re the ones with the power,” she said.

luggage

People need to avoid over-consumption, just like corporations and governments.

Packing sustainably

If you’re able to source clothes in your sizes through Any Wear, Anywhere then you should give it a go, especially if that negates the need to buy more clothes for a trip.

Rentals should be done a month in advance and people can rent the clothes for up to two weeks while in Japan.

But as Dr Higgins-Desbiolles pointed out, it won’t be for everybody, and some people simply won’t want to take the risk of being stuck with the clothes that might not fit or work for them.

Instead, consumers should consider packing lighter to reduce emissions in the air.

While it is not ideal to do laundry while on a holiday, it’s usually always an option, especially at hotels.

But there’s also another reality we need to face.

“We need a reduction in people travelling and people travelling for such short periods of time, if there are alternatives or if there are alternative transport methods, because aviation does have a big impact on emissions,” Dr Higgins-Desbiolles said.

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