The Great Christmas Tree Debate - Revisited
By Karina | December 14, 2009
It’s well into the Christmas season around here, and most of you who celebrate have probably already put your trees up. I wanted to revisit the big FAKE VS REAL TREE debate briefly - we got a question from one of you lovely readers about which is better, plus I’ve been seeing other people kind of gently debate it in other forums as well.
Now, when I say that it’s revisited, that’s because we did a Q&A on the topic way back in 2007. And pretty definately, most sources definitively say real trees are better than fake - especially if you are able to mulch them after the holidays and keep them out of landfills. There are lots and lots of links in the Q&A post and I don’t want to rehash old material - basically, though, the issue with artificial trees is that they are nearly all made from PVC, which is terribly toxic, and shipped halfway around the world. On the other hand, a recent life-cycle analysis of the Christmas Tree Issue (summarized here) determined that the transportation of real trees from lots or farms to homes is a serious contributor of greenhouse gases. Plus christmas tree farms are monocultures which rely on pesticides and herbicides to make the trees perfect - and that’s not great for the environment!
So how can you be sure your tree is coming from a local source that doesn’t use lots of pesticides? Well, for one, you can check out the National Forestry Service in your area to see if they have a hike-in tree-cutting permit available. I heard about a neat program in New Hampshire last week on NPR - with a $5 tree permit, you can pick out the tree you want and harvest it yourself! If you don’t have a National Forest near you, there may be a local grower that you can find. When I was a kid we would drive out to forested lot which was seldom staffed (on the honor system maybe? I was young, the details are fuzzy) and where all proceeds went to the local nature conservancy. Of course these suggestions expect that you have access to a forest, a car, and a good saw. Plus the effects of driving for hours out to the mountains are not insignificant - so be sure if you do this to combine trips!
The next most important thing is that you get to know your local tree vendors. If it’s the local fire department or a guy who moves in with his RV to the corner of the local shopping center, take a moment and ask about where the trees come from.
OR, you can do what we do in our family: take over a “vintage” or gently used artificial tree from someone who no longer needs it, and get the last remaining years of life out of it. I’ve read that the life span for artificial trees is between 6 to 10 years - but our tree is at least 10 years old, and while it’s not the most chic or modern model, by the time we put our favorite ornaments and lovely lights on it, it’s transformed into a thing of beauty.
If you celebrate Christmas, what are you doing for a tree this year?
[[Photo from flickr user RaeA via creative commons license. It’s a Christmas tree made from wire mesh!]]
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(mom here) actually your first trip was inutero with Nana Rae who really rather freaked out!
Treehugger had a good article about this;
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/real-or-fake-christmas-tree.php?campaign=daily_nl
My husband and I debated this question about 15 years ago. We had been driving out to the country and chopping down a tree (at a tree farm) and then we chipped it and used it in our gardens afterwards, but we still felt guilty about killing a tree every year!
So one Dec. 26th I hit the stores and found an expensive fake tree on sale, 50% off. It wasn’t the most expensive one, but the best one that I could afford. I believe it cost me $75 which seemed like a lot at the time but we were spending $20 every year on a real tree so I figured after 4 years this one would have paid for itself.
It is now 15 years later and we are still using the tree and it still looks beautiful (the key is to buy quality). Real trees are now closer to $40-$50 here and so my $75 investment is looking better and better each year.
We go no-tree at all. But I guess that’s not so much an eco choice as it is living in a small space and not wanting to devote precious storage space to a fake tree, and to being violently allergic to pine trees (ironic, given that I grew up on property that was a former Christmas tree farm). We actually don’t decorate at all for the holidays because of our storage issue. But, the building I work in is beautifully decorated, as is the city as a whole, so I enjoy other people’s decorations!
The past years i have been bying trees (oops, didn’t think of checking “how local” they were) with the roots still on and then plant them on my rooftop. No rooftop or garden? Buy a small(er) one and plant it in a pot. You can even resuse and decorate it again the following year.
I decided to get a real tree this year. I thought about it a lot and just decided to go for it. It ended up that the one we got (from Target of all places) says it was sustainably farmed. I still need to find out what that means (greenwashing or real) but it’s a little better I imagine.
I wanted to chime in since I brought up the original real vs. fake question. Last fall I asked my parent’s about the fake tree they used to set up on our screened in side porch. They had moved to a new house, with no porch, and I figured the tree might be hanging around. Happily it was, and this is our second year with our recycled tree. If we were in a smaller house with less storage I’d probably go small and live (and local), but our basement affords us the space to keep the tree and the tub or ornaments stored away 11 months of the year. I still love my impulse purchase pink tinsel fairy tree, and carefully pack it away so it will last for many shiny holidays.
Also, I miss having a live tree but not the hassle. Actually, I think what I miss the most is the ritual of going out to pick the perfect tree with my dad at the local lot. Maybe I need to tag along on someone else’s tree buying trip!
Well, our approach is a bit different. We celebrate Yule, and picked up a gorgeous green and gold candle-holder with space for a dozen candles. It is in the shape of a tree, with delicate leaves and everything. Our ornaments go on that, and then the longest night of the year, we light candles.
Up at my mom’s, where we spend Christmas, our newest thing is to go out to the huge pine (that was once a small potted tree) and cut a few branches off. Then we lash them together somehow until we have a rough “tree” shape and decorate!
we are using, again, our fake tree … that new visitors often ask us if it is real (the hubby spent quite a bit of money many years ago). i agree that if you are going fake, go for quality! we gently pack the tree up every year and it is holding it’s own (even with FIVE cats in the house).
I walk past an outdoor store everyday that sells Christmas trees in the winter and plants and mulch and the like during he other seasons, so I live vicariously through that. I love the smell of pine, so I may supplement my giant inhales as I pass with asking for a few refuse branches to put in a vase in my apartment.
I celebrate Christmas day at my dad’s and he moved from a large house to an apartment this year. I suspect he’ll buy a small tree and the nearby beach actually collects them to act as a barrier to prevent erosion over the winter.
Hubby dumpster dived a half-dozen fake trees from the local church school last year when they chose to replace ALL their old trees after Christmas regardless of condition. We kept a 9′ gorgeous fake tree that closes up like an umbrella and Freecycled the rest a few weeks ago. It should serve us for the rest of our winters, it is that sturdy and in that good a shape.
I still don’t understand why they chucked it at the school. They were all sound.