By Sevenah Sandoval
For the people that celebrate Christmas, the beginning of December marks the time of year in which holiday festivities are in full swing. One such festivity is decorating a Christmas tree, whether it’s taken out of the garage and assembled annually, picked up from a local farm or hardware store, or cut down and taken home from a forest. If you are decorating a tree this year, it’s important to understand how the type of Christmas tree you have may be impacting the environment.
Deforestation is a rampant issue in the United States. According to the DGB Group, a nature restoration company, the U.S. has “lost 4.22 million acres of forest, equivalent to 775 million ton[s] of carbon dioxide emissions.” Amid this issue, it can easily be assumed that the high volume of Christmas trees purchased during the holiday season is a detriment to the environment. However, the use of artificial Christmas trees has actually been shown to be more harmful than the purchase of real Christmas trees.
The DGB Group cited unsustainable logging practices as one major contributor to deforestation. Despite the high demand for Christmas trees in the holiday season, the growth and sale of real Christmas trees is actually very sustainable. According to the Nature Conservancy, “[o]ut of the 350-500 million [trees] growing on tree farms across the U.S., only 30 million trees are harvested for Christmas each year.” This leaves valuable green space preserved. The National Christmas Tree Association has also reported multiple reasons that Christmas tree farming and sales actually help the environment. For example, they estimate that for every Christmas tree harvested, between one and three tree seedlings are planted the subsequent Spring. So, purchasing real Christmas trees helps the environment by keeping tree farms in business and preserving the land.
Unlike real Christmas trees, artificial Christmas trees are not a recyclable or renewable resource. They pose great threats to the environment because they are made of non-biodegradable plastics. Further, the NCTA noted that these trees can contain metal toxins, including lead. Because most of these trees end up in landfills, they exacerbate the issue of pollution. The issue with artificial trees doesn’t stop there–they also increase carbon emissions. According to the Nature Conservancy, 90 percent of the 10 million artificial Christmas trees that are purchased yearly are shipped from China, causing great carbon emissions during the production and shipping process. Because of the negative environmental impact they have, artificial Christmas trees are much less sustainable than real Christmas trees.
When shopping for a Christmas tree this year, consider the environmental impact of your decision. While setting up an artificial tree might be easier, opting for a real Christmas tree is more environmentally friendly, and can be one small step in reducing your carbon footprint this holiday season.
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