Last updated on December 7th, 2023 at 09:18 pm

Trying to decide which is the most sustainable between two options is sometimes harder than it seems like it should be. There are so many variables to consider and it can be easy to throw up your hands and give up.

Unfortunately, the question of which type of Christmas tree is the most eco-friendly quickly becomes one of those. If only there was a clear cut answer. Besides the type of tree, the use and method of disposal are important considerations.

I’ve waded through many articles, and after my research, I’ve come to a conclusion. Read on to form your own opinion through the information I’ve compiled and see how it compares to mine.

Live Christmas Trees

Who doesn’t love that fresh Christmas tree smell? Aaaahhhhhh. I’ve loved it since I was a kid.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are close to 350 million trees currently growing on 15,000 Christmas tree farms throughout the U.S., which employs nearly 100,000 people full or part-time.

The average growing time for a Christmas tree is 7 years. While they’re growing, the trees of course benefit the environment as any tree does, pulling and storing carbon from the atmosphere.

Numerous studies have found that Christmas tree farms play an important role in maintaining a habitat for wildlife. For example, a study done in the UK found that the farm attracted a wealth of fauna, including 40 different types of birds, numerous mammals, and insects like moths and ground beetles.

But then of course, the trees are eventually cut down.

I think we can all agree chopping down trees is not desirable, right? Yet, these trees may not be growing in the first place without having been planted by farmers. And despite trees being slow-growing, they are renewable, unlike the plastic used for artifical trees. The National Christmas tree Association reports that for every real Christmas tree harvested, 1 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place the following spring.

O Tannenbaum’s pesticide problem

Another thing to consider about live Christmas trees is the use of pesticides. Six states—Oregon, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, and Texas—grow 63% of Christmas trees in the United States and spray 270,000 pounds of pesticides each year.

Many of these chemicals have been linked to endocrine disruption, cognitive delay, attention deficit disorder, or cancer. Farmworkers endure exposure, and pesticides are found in waterways near tree farm and are toxic to fish. It is unclear how much pesticide residue remains on a tree when placed in your home, so that is an unknown risk factor.

Only 1% of the 25 million live trees sold each year are purchased from organic farms that offer pesticide-free trees. If you’re lucky you can find a tree farm near you that uses integrated pest management (IPM) instead of pesticides. The Filtery is one resource that has a directory of organic tree farms by state.

Going out and cutting your own tree out of the forest clearly avoids this problem, but then, you are cutting down a wild tree. Permits can be obtained from the National Forest Service or for BLM land.

Other live tree considerations

• Higher fire risk than artificial trees
• Potential for harboring hitchhiker or pests
• Presence of pollen or mold may be problematic for those with sensitive allergies
• Can be messy (sap, resin, sheds needles)
• Needs watering

Recommendations for sustainable live Christmas trees

• Choose an tree from a local organic farm, if you can find one.
• Source the tree as to home as possible. This is optimal for the low carbon emissions from minimal shipping or transport.
• Certification by the Forestry Standard Council (FSC) is an added bonus.
• Keep the tree well-watered and remove it from your home as soon as it starts to dry up.

How to dispose of your Christmas tree

Inevitably your tree starts looking a bit crispy and shedding like a golden retriever, and/or Valentine’s Day rolls around, and it’s time to part ways.

There’s only one hard and fast rule for disposing of a live Christmas tree: don’t let it end up in the landfill.

Improper disposal of a live Christmas tree, i.e. sending it to the landfill, negates the benefits of choosing a real tree. There’s the one clear answer in this whole matter. A real tree that ends up in a landfill has a significantly higher carbon footprint than an artificial tree.

When a dead tree, or any type of organic matter, breaks down in nature, carbon dioxide is released. In contrast, when deposited in a landfill, the organic material gets buried by layers of trash and loses access to oxygen. In this anaerobic environment, decompostion takes significantly longer. The byproduct becomes methane instead of carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere 80 times more than CO2.

Luckily, there are many feasible options to get rid of the tree after the holidays.

Mulch or compost

If you’re a DIY kind of person, consider renting a wood chipper to create mulch or compost for your yard. You could also go in on one with your neighbors.

Another option is to cut up the branches into smaller pieces and create a brush pile to serve as a winter shelter for pollinators and other insects.

Hopefully your area offers some sort “treecycling” or mulching service. This can be a curbside pickup, a yard waste bin, or a designated drop off location. Some Boy Scout troops may offer tree pick up services.

Firewood

Surprisingly, burning the tree is reported to be an acceptable option. Simply put, the carbon dioxide stored by the tree while growing is released during this process, resulting in no net increase in emissions.

Other uses

There are other interesting uses for Christmas trees that you probably didn’t know anything about.

• Fish habitat. If you have access to a pond, see if you can sink your tree into it to create a refuge for fish and other aquatic creatures. According to Penn State Extension, “studies have found that species richness, diversity, and abundance of fish tends to increase with the presence of submerged trees with complex branching.” Your local branch of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or U.S. Forest Service may have projects using Christmas tree to create fish havens in larger bodies of water like lakes and reservoirs.
• Soil erosion barriers. Some communities have used Christmas trees to decrease land erosion, especially in coastal areas. The state of Louisiana has battled degradation of wetlands for decades, and for years has been collecting trees to build up a natural levee. On the Connecticut coast, trees have been used to trap sand and preserve beaches.
• Goat food. Goats will eat the needles and strip the bark from trees. Check with local goat owners or farms.
• Paths for hiking trails: Some areas might use shredded trees for natural path material.

Artificial Christmas Trees

The biggest advantage of an artificial tree is that they can be reused for a long time, up to about 20 years say some sources. Anyone had theirs longer?

Despite the reusable nature of artificial trees, they are only used for an average of 6-9 years before being thrown away, and 10 million new ones are sold in the U.S. each year. 80-90% of Christmas trees are manufactured in China and must travel long distances, contributing to carbon emissions.

The numbers for the total carbon footprint of an artificial tree versus a live tree are all over the place. But the consensus seems to be that a fake tree’s carbon footprint if used for at least 5-10 years becomes equal to or less than annual purchasing of a live tree.

(For further reading, try articles by the Carbon Trust, The Guardian, and Time.

What are artificial trees made of?

Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is the most prevalent component of artificial Christmas trees. Like other plastics, PVC is produced from oil. This process accounts for two thirds of a fake tree’s carbon footprint.

PVC is the most dangerous plastic to our health because of the high number of chemicals added in its production. And again, the majority of fake Christmas trees are produced in China, where chemical regulation isn’t a strong suit. (Then again, it isn’t in the U.S. either).

• Vinyl chloride is a carcinogen.
• Lead is often added as a stabilizer. Any level of lead is considered unsafe. The National Christmas Tree Association itself states, “Lead can sometimes be found in artificial trees. The potential for lead poisoning is great enough that fake trees made in China are required by California Prop 65 to have a warning label.”
• Phthalates and bisphenol-A (BPA) are well-known endocrine disruptors that often show up in PVC.

PVC is known to leach these dangerous toxins throughout its entire lifecycle, in addition to mercury, cadmium, and dioxins (a chemical in Agent Orange).

Flame retardants are another class of chemicals typically added to synthetic Christmas trees, for obvious reasons. But the chemicals used to create flame resistance properties can lead to a myriad of adverse health effects. They also tend to persist in the environment.

Any of these chemicals can leach into the air and we are exposed to them by inhaling the particles in the air or by eating and drinking things that have come into contact with products containing them.

Finally, like any other plastic, trees made from PVC are not biodegradeable, nor are they recyclable.

Recommendations for non-toxic artificial Christmas trees

• Thrift an existing Christmas tree rather than buying a new one.
• Shop for PVC-free artificial Christmas tree and/or a tree that is made from polyethylene (PE) instead. This type of plastic is much less toxic. Lowe’s has a PE filter, as well as Basalm Hill.
• An air purifier may help mitigate some of the chemicals that might be leaching from the plastic, however one MIT study found that home air purifiers are not very effective at removing VOCs and may even add more to the air.
• Proper storage is the most important factor in prolonging the life of your tree. This means keeping it clean and away from sunlight, humidity, and extreme or drastic fluctations in temperature.

What to do with an old artificial Christmas tree

Donate your tree to a thrift shop or post on an online marketplace if it is still in good condition. A variety of non-profit organizations such as The Christmas Tree Project collect trees to pass on to those in need.

If your tree is unsalvageable, there isn’t any other option than for it to spend the rest of its very long existence in the landfill.

Christmas tree variations & alternatives

Rent a live tree

This is a newer concept, so a company that offers this service may be hard to come by. Examples include LivingChristmas.com and RentXmasTree.com, both of which only serve California.

Decorate a plant or tree you already own

Spruce up your favorite indoor greenery to be a festive decoration. Or buy a small one for this purpose that still makes a nice houseplant after the holidays.

Buy a living Christmas tree

You can go even bigger (and much heavier) and get yourself a potted or even balled and burlapped tree with the intention of planting it after the holidays. This takes some advance planning as you’d want to know the mature size and the appropriate place that you’d want it to grow. It’s also best to dig the hole before the ground freezes, and if that isn’t possible, keep the tree watered until the ground thaws.

This option is more labor intensive and can only be done a finite number of times unless you have a larger property. Click for some tips on caring for a living Christmas tree if you want to know more.

Decorate an outdoor tree

Use any variety of lights and ornaments, or better yet, create a bird feeding station. Enlist the kids in a pinecone bird feeder craft project or one of these other fun feeder ideas. Don’t be too proud to relive your preschool days and make some yourself. Hang fresh orange slices and strung popcorn or fresh cranberries to provide passing birds with a Christmas treat.

Make your own Christmas tree

If I see the word craft, I run away. But there are a million options for you crafty Craftersons to go all out. I’ve seen ideas on making trees with anything from books to alcohol bottles, I actually think this one made from driftwood is super cute. You can make one from natural materials harvested from your yard or midnight ops to the neighbor’s. Pruned branches from other’s Christmas trees, fallen branches, driftwood, pine cones, holly branches. I’m sure the world of Pinterest has you covered for more ideas than you could ever dream of really ambitious, or for less overwhelming inspiration, check out these DIY Christmas tree ideas from BoredPanda.

Skip a tree altogether

It’s perfectly ok to nix this Christmas tradition in favor of creating some holiday cheer in another way.

Final Thoughts on Christmas trees

So have you made a decision on what type of Christmas tree is right for you, or are you just as confused? There’s no clear-cut answer, right?

If you’re willing to part from the traditional tree in favor of one of the alternatives, that is going to be the best, most environmentally friendly route to take.

But if you’re one of those that are emotionally attached to having a Christmas tree, as many of us are, then you’re left with a decision.

My final conclusion

After all my research, I think that the best overall choice is a real, live Christmas tree.

I will say that when a took time to think about this practice at its base, it does seem like a lot that a tree is grown for around 10 years and destined to be cut down to spend the last month of its life dying inside a house.

But.

It is renewable, and if sourced by a responsibly managed tree farm, it will be replaced. It may take years to grow back, but it will eventually.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned throughout my intensive sustainability journey this year is that plastic is really hard to justify. Our world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels and their climate impact are no joke. Pollution from the production and waste of plastics, from the plastics themselves to the toxic chemicals used to manufacture them, will last far longer than our lifetimes.

I have an artificial Christmas tree. We bought it several years ago, when I thought it would be better than continuing to cut down live ones year after year. At this point, I will keep using it as long as I can.

But even if I live for 50 more years and keep this tree going, it will remain on this planet for generations.

Click to learn more about plastic pollution.