Have you ever wondered if buying a fresh Christmas tree each year was the most eco-friendly thing to be doing? Well, you’re not alone, many well-meaning individuals have opted to get themselves a fake tree in recent times on the basis that they’re preventing yet another needless arboreal casualty and doing their bit for the environment in the process.
However, this perspective is actually sadly misinformed – and you shouldn’t just take our word for it! According to a seminal study published in The New York Times, an artificial or plastic Christmas Tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years in order to be classified as a ‘greener’ option than buying a freshly cut tree annually. That’s before you start even considering the longer-term or secondary implications of such a purchase. For example, many of these artificial Christmas trees contain synthetic materials that don’t readily degrade in the natural environment, such as the dreaded composite of the modern era – PVC.
In addition, such a viewpoint fails to take account of the economic angle. Put simply, if people stop buying real Christmas trees then farmers will regrettably be compelled to stop growing them. This brings us on nicely to the environmental argument as farmers of sustainably grown Christmas trees tend to also plant new seedlings for every tree they harvest – typically at a ratio of 3:1. These young trees grow steadily for 8 to 12 years making a significant contribution to the absorption of harmful CO2 in the atmosphere as well as producing life-giving oxygen.
At Pines & Co we believe in supporting our local suppliers who have been growing award-winning Christmas trees for over 30 years and doing so within a sustainable framework. In addition, all of our Christmas Tree bundles include a recycling feature, whereby we come and collect your old tree in the New Year, chip it down and give it a second lease of life as softwood bedding for the lucky sheep on our Wicklow farm.
