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.