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Christmas Trees: Real or Fake!

What is more eco friendly - a real Christmas Tree or an Artificial / Fake one?

The National Christmas Tree Association have produced an interesting chart which demonstrates the benefits of real trees.

Read on ... You will be surprised ... As with everything there is always a debate and we would welcome your views in this respect.

Real TreesArtificial Trees
PLACE OF ORIGIN  
  • United States & Canada
  • 85% from China
   
METHOD OF PRODUCTION  
  • farming
  • factory
  • planting takes place Jan-May
  • raw materials sent to factory & assembled into final product
  • estimated 40-45 million trees planted in 2008 in North America
  • product is shipped to U.S. then distributed to stores
  • estimated 446 million trees growing on farms in U.S.
  • number of factories unknown
  • tree farms support complex eco-systems
  • factories only consume natural resources
   
COMPONENTS  
  • plant tissue
  • plastics and metals
  • 100% biodegradable
  • non-biodegradable
   
PVC FREE?  
  • Yes
  • No
   
LEAD FREE?  
  • Yes
  • No (lead is used in the process of making PVC plastic)
   
CARBON NEUTRAL?  
  • Yes
  • No
  • trees absorb carbon dioxide
  • plastic is a petroleum byproduct
  • when decomposing, carbon, nitrogen and other elements are released into soil
  
   
CHEMICALS?  
  • No
  • Yes
  • Scientists have measured cut Christmas trees for chemical residue and not found any significant amounts
  • PVC itself is a dangerous chemical
  • Many different bugs, fungi and parasites can attack and kill trees, so farmers may use pesticides to keep consumers' trees healthy and alive until harvest
  • Manufacture of PVC creates and disperses dioxins, the most toxic man-made chemical known
  • Most pesticides are ground applied
  • Released into air or water, dioxins enter the food chain, where they accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans, a potential risk for causing cancer, damaging immune functions and impairing children's development
  • Herbicides are used to suppress, not kill off, weeds to prevent soil erosion
  
  • If someone tells you “there are chemicals on cut Christmas trees” they are wrong
  
   
DISPOSAL  
  • Recycled
  • Landfill
  • Used trees can be recycled in a variety of ways
  • Fake trees can’t be recycled and end up in landfills
  • Decomposing trees add nutrients back into the earth
  • All of the accumulated fake trees are a burden to the environment indefinitely
   
RENEWABLE RESOURCE?  
  • Yes
  • No
  • New trees are planted every year
  • Petroleum, used to make plastic, is a non-renewable resource, as are metals
   
ECO-FRIENDLY?  
  • Yes
  • No

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