Why Getting a Real Christmas Tree may be the Greener Choice

I care about the earth and I buy real Christmas trees…does that make me a hypocrite? I honestly wasn’t sure at first, so I did a little research and now I feel pretty good about my decision for getting a real Christmas tree. Whew.

Check out below to see why I’m ok with buying real and how else I go green in December.

Christmas Trees Come from Farms not Forests

Your tree isn’t being cut down from a forest. It comes from a Christmas tree farm and is considered a sustainable crop. And Christmas trees are often planted on areas of land that aren’t suitable for other crops.

They Clean the Air

Just like trees in a forest, they clean carbon dioxide from the air and supply us with fresh clean oxygen while they grow.

They Provide Shelter for Animals and Insects While they Grow

Birds, squirrels and other small animals and insects find shelter in these trees while they grow on the farms.

And Christmas tree farmers plant the trees in a succession fashion – meaning that they are planting new ones each year (one or more for every tree cut down) and because they take a few years to grow, there are always trees for the critters to find shelter in.

Buying Trees support American Farmers

We grow our trees here in America, where as fake Christmas trees often come from overseas. Buying a live tree supports farmers and even better if you buy a locally grown tree from your region to decrease the carbon footprint of transporting trees!

Fake Christmas Trees are made of Plastic

If you haven’t heard, plastic is bad for our environment. Plastic takes forever to degrade and it is taking over our landfills and oceans.

Sure you can plan to keep the fake Christmas tree for years and years, but eventually it will end up in a landfill. If you do plan on getting a fake Christmas tree (like if you have tree allergies or for whatever other reason), plan on investing in a nice one that you can keep for as many years as possible.

A Real Christmas Tree Can be Recycled

Because fake trees are made of a certain kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle and then wrapped around steel they can’t be recycled. But real trees can be recycled/composted! We will be recycling our tree and it makes me happy knowing it will be giving back to the earth.

If you live in North Texas check here to see how to recycle your real tree in your city. If you live somewhere else just google it! Some cities have drop off locations to recycle the tree, but many cities are beginning to collect the trees from your neighborhood. Denton is one of the cities that collects in the neighborhood, yay!

Donating a Tree to the National Forest Foundation

One of the reasons I love having a real Christmas tree, is because it reminds me of how grateful I am of nature and of all the hikes I’ve been in places with beautiful trees. So, last December I decided that my Christmas tree will serve as an annual reminder to give back to the forests that I love and enjoy so much.

While cutting down Christmas trees are not disrupting forests, our forests are still suffering due to over-use and deforestation. So, every December I’m donating to the National Forest Foundation to help make a difference now and for future generations. If you would like to start this tradition too, you can donate here. Every dollar donated is used to plant a native tree in our forests. Cool huh?

Cheers,