Real Christmas Tree Offers Eco-Friendly Benefits
Find a Balsam, Fir, Spruce, or Pine Tree to Decorate This Holiday
Oct 6, 2009
Real Christmas trees are the traditional choice for decorating many homes during the holiday, but in recent years artificial alternatives have become popular due to environmental reasons. While the environment is top of mind for many, the National Christmas Tree Association notes many ways in which fresh Christmas trees are an eco-friendly choice.
The use of real evergreen trees to celebrate Christmas is not a modern convention and actually extends far into the past with the first written mention in the sixteenth century. Identifying which fresh Christmas tree is right for a given home is easy and has been done for hundreds of years.
Fresh Christmas Tree Offers Eco-Friendly Holiday Choice
The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) advocates for fresh Christmas trees and consider real Christmas trees a clear eco-friendly choice when compared to artificial Christmas trees. The main argument is that artificial trees are usually imported from China, made of non-biodegradable plastics, are a non-renewable resource which may contain harmful PVCs.
While cutting down trees hardly seems like an eco-friendly option, the NCTA notes that for every real Christmas tree harvested up to three new seedlings are planted the following year. With 500,000 acres devoted to growing Christmas trees, the industry employs 100,000 people across 50 US states and Canada.
An estimated 446 million Christmas trees are currently growing in the United States with only 25-30 million sold in the US each year. The eco-friendly benefits of a fresh Christmas tree include:
- Renewable resource with frequent plantings and average maturity at 7 years
- Trees are carbon neutral and tree farms support complex ecosystems
- Harvested trees can be recycled through 4,000 US recycling programs
- Decomposing trees release carbon, nitrogen and other elements into the soil
Selecting from Popular Fresh Christmas Tree Types
With numerous real Christmas tree types available, the following tree types represent some of the most popular. Each real Christmas tree has a unique look due to pine needle shape, color, and size.
- Balsam Fir
- Douglas Fir
- Fraser Fir
- Noble Fir
- Scotch Pine
When selecting a fresh Christmas tree, consider the size and weight of ornaments that will be used to decorate the tree. A Christmas tree should have branches able to support the weight of the decorations. The NCTA offers additional tips on selecting a real Christmas tree.
Traditional Christmas Celebration Featuring a Fresh Christmas Tree
Millions of families with converge on retail lots this year to select a real Christmas tree to decorate their homes. While some may prefer to use an alternative tree, traditional fresh Christmas trees offer a scent, shape, and color hard to replicate.
Not only are fresh Christmas trees beautiful, the evergreens are an eco-friendly option as well. Many types of Christmas trees are available with Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Noble Fir, and Scotch Pine being some of the most popular holiday choices.
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