Today, Christmas trees are at a peak in popularity as Christmas celebrations continue to get bigger. Most of these trees however, are made of synthetic plastics and steel. Rather than buy artificial Christmas trees, we should continue to embrace the tradition of real trees because they are surprisingly better for our environment, artificial trees have to be used for extensive amounts of time to cause an impact, and buying real trees help support small businesses.
Embracing the tradition of using real trees is important because it’s more environmentally friendly than artificial trees. When it comes to the material made, artificial trees lack in benefiting our environment. Real trees consist of a variety of soft wooded, evergreen trees such as Douglas, Balsam, and Fraser Firs, which are the most commonly used species. This doesn’t impact the environment because they are able to decompose and be easily disposed of in compost piles. They are also species indigenous to North America which means that they can actually benefit our local environments, returning nutrients to our soils and essential decomposers. Compared to the synthetic materials that make up artificial trees, real trees clearly lead in disposability. While many may think Artificial trees are recycled when they are disposed of, in reality, they cannot. In fact, most artificial trees are made of PVC plastics which are considerably hard to recycle. This proves their inefficiency in benefiting the environment because those plastics will simply end up in landfills. These plastics are what later turns into microplastics that harm not only wildlife but us.
It is a common misconception that because real trees expire, artificial trees are more efficient because they are able to be reused. While artificial trees and their reusability is undoubtedly true, the extent to which it makes a difference is extensive. In fact, you would need to have an artificial tree for 20 years for it to actually have beneficial impacts. This shows how having artificial trees is counterproductive in benefiting our environment because most people keep their trees for around 5 years before they get a new one. While these trees can last a long time, new trends and condition issues like faulty lighting can contribute to a person deciding to buy a new one in three years as opposed to keeping it for two decades.
By buying real trees, we also support local farmers and sellers that specialize in the practice. If a person were to buy an artificial Christmas tree, they would likely be oblivious to where it was manufactured. According to The Nature Conservancy, 10 million artificial trees are bought annually, 90% of which were shipped from China. By buying trees shipped thousands of miles away, we do a disservice to our local farmers and sellers and give profits to large corporations like Walmart or Target. These producers of our trees mostly rely on sales for their sole income during this time. If we value Christmas as a time of gratitude and giving back, we should give gratitude and support to local farmers and sellers rather than corporations like Walmart or Target. Since artificial trees are commonly manufactured in China, most of these factories who mass produce trees and other goods in general utilize underpaid workers that experience inhumane conditions. This would mean to bring joy to yourself with an artificial tree, you cause the suffering of thousands of people.
Whether or not you buy a real tree or an artificial one, it’s important to keep sustainability and traditions in mind. While a personal choice is a personal choice, If we want to continue to celebrate Christmas worldwide, we must ensure that we have a healthy planet, foreseeable future, and prospering people to do so.
