Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not even Halloween yet. And after that, we've got Thanksgiving. And
then, Christmas! But here's the thing, last night me and the boyfriend were having an
argument, disagreement, discussion about Christmas trees. More so, about which was the more eco-friendly choice. A real tree, or a fake tree? The boyfriend, he's for fake trees. Cutting down real trees is "mean", and
if people keep their fake trees for many years, it balances out the initial negatives. Me, I'm for real trees. They're grown specifically for the holiday purpose, a new tree is planted in it's place, and at the end of the holidays many cities turn them into mulch now.
I found one article from
Yahoo! Green that I thought was pretty interesting! (And by pretty interesting, I mean agreed with my opinion! Ha!)
"If you want a tree for the holiday, the experts at Grist and TreeHugger say it's actually better to buy a cut real Christmas tree than an artificial tree. Why? In a word, plastics. Fake trees are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Producing this type of plastic creates a lot of pollution, and PVC is difficult to recycle."
But method lust wants to know how you feel!
Real, or fake? Which do you feel is more eco-friendly, and why?
8 comments:
We go with a tabletop sized real tree at our house even though we have room for a much larger one. Mostly because I'm super allergic to the scent and the smaller one doesn't spread its scent as far. Fake never was even an option. There's no way my parents would have put up with my complaining about PVC off-gassing. They already think that my Method stash is crazy.
Sorry I haven't been around much! I moved back home and the method availability is pretty pathetic, so I've not wanted to see the pretty shiny new things.
I want one of those vintage aluminum trees. Are they recyclable? Anyway... real is definitely better for the environment.
Real real real! The city I live in does a post Christmas tree pick up free of charge and mulches them up. The only time I say no to real is the flocked ones - those are bad for the environment and you can't mulch them :(
Many individuals argue that real is better, but I have my doubts. Yes, most trees come from Tree Farms and are replaced yearly, but many people don't consider the environmental impact on transporting cut trees across the US for sale. (Though the same could be said for the fake ones.) I think if you buy local, sure, real is the best deal (except for your pocket book). I've chosen to go with artificial because my tree will go up November 15th (15 days later this year than last year) and will stay up until the first week of January.
It's very difficult to say without all the variables. How many many people buy real? How many buy fake? How long do people keep their fake trees (we've had only two over my entire 28 year life span), and what do they do with their old ones (donate or destroy)? I think, in the end, that real may squeak out over fake just for the simple reason that they are 100% natural, do no harm in their creation (aka growing), and do no harm in returning to the environment.
For me - I tend to go with smaller trees or even bushes which can be planted in the garden after the holidays.
Nothing wrong with having a cypress, juniper, rosmary bush, even boxwood.
Why must holidays always be the same same?
Modern times people ...... is it so wrong to get inspiration around your local garden center? Why not think ahead about what can happen to your holiday greenery once January rolls around so it can take on a second life?
Personally I do get a little creeped out by artifical trees..... Oh just what I wanted! some dust from 3 years ago
You shouldnt have!
According to an article I read, 70% of American homes now use artificial trees. - 70%?! Sigh.
I grew up with live trees--potted, not cut down, and then we would plant them in our yard after Christmas. They're gigantic and beautiful now! Some of them are probably like, 30 feet tall. :)
And how could you not love having your house smell like a tree?
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