For most people, the holidays are only really complete with a Christmas tree in the living room. This does not necessarily have to be a real tree. There are also very nice alternatives. Each type of Christmas tree has properties that make them more or less sustainable. Mascha takes you through the search for a sustainable Christmas tree. Because what is actually the sustainability of Christmas trees? And what is the best choice?
How bad are Christmas trees for the planet?
Christmas tree growers take between four and 10 years to grow a Christmas tree. The production uses (fossil) energy, (artificial) fertiliser, pesticides and water to grow millions of Christmas trees every year. And after Christmas, 2.5 million Christmas trees are discarded in the wheelie bin or with the organic waste. Whew, so with Christmas trees we burden the planet. Milieu Centraal calculated that the climate impact of a Christmas tree is equivalent to about 25 kilometres of car driving. If you opt for an artificial tree! Even then it requires raw materials, energy, transport and waste disposal. That impact is greater than that of a live Christmas tree. But because an artificial tree is usually used for several years, the negative impact per year is smaller. Milieu Centraal estimates that after six to 10 years of use, an artificial tree has a lower environmental impact (and is therefore better) than a real tree. So, in short, a plastic tree is not that crazy.
Alternatives to art and real
Besides a live Christmas tree and an artificial Christmas tree, you can also think about a creative alternative Christmas tree. There are so many creative Christmas trees to make. Before I had children, I used to hang a fabric print of a Christmas tree. Then as a toddler, our eldest made a Christmas tree painting, which I used as a Christmas tree for a few years. And I drew a Christmas tree as a window drawing one year, when, with a baby in the house, I didn't fancy needles. Feel like making something yourself? I found so many great ideas; a chalkboard with a drawn tree, a cardboard Christmas tree, a wall-hanging Christmas tree from found branches, a Christmas tree on canvas or a pallet Christmas tree. Lovely to brighten up your home in the dark days of the year. And sustainable too!
A aantap sustainable alternatives to a Christmas tree. A cardboard Christmas tree from Kartent, a zero waste Christmas tree made of branches and a second-hand artificial Christmas tree with baubles from the thrift store. Read more Christmas tips from the thrift store here.
How to choose a sustainable Christmas tree?
Buy your tree close by
You might not say it, but transporting your tree from the shop or grower to your home is the biggest climate killer. Buying a local Christmas tree therefore delivers by far the most climate gain. If you have to drive more than ten kilometres one way to get your Christmas tree, then your car journey is more polluting than your Christmas tree. So choose a Christmas tree from closer by!
Extend lifespan
Doing long with your Christmas tree, whether it is a live Christmas tree, an alternative form or an artificial tree, also reduces the footprint. Therefore, opting for an artificial Christmas tree is an excellent sustainable choice if you use it every year for the next decade. Even better is a second-hand artificial tree from the thrift store or Marktplaats that you give a second (long) life in your home. Choose a real tree? Get a Christmas tree with root ball, take good care of it and plant it in your garden after use. Then you can put it back in your living room year after year.
Adopt a sustainable Christmas tree
Don't have room in your garden or don't feel like looking at a Christmas tree in your garden all year? An increasing number of places offer the option of renting or adopting a Christmas tree. After New Year, you return the tree and the grower plants it back to look after it for another year. With an adopted Christmas tree, the tree often has a tag, so you can put your Christmas tree back in your home next year. In case of rental, the grower plants the tree back afterwards (for life) and you get another one the following year. We opted for the same adopted Christmas tree every year from Ecovillage Boekel, and even gave our tree a name Sylvester. Sylvester is visiting for the fourth year this year.
Rental and adoption Christmas trees can also be found at:
Choose an organic Christmas tree
Christmas trees are professionally grown on a large scale. To make sure you have a perfect tree in your home and no Christmas trees are lost to pests and diseases, pesticides are used. But those pesticides also have a downside. They also cause environmental damage and loss of biodiversity in the areas where the trees are grown. And that residue of toxins on the trees is not exactly healthy for us either. A better choice then is an organic Christmas tree grown without chemical pesticides.
Choose sustainable Christmas decorations too
Have you chosen your Christmas tree? Then choose the rest of your Christmas decorations sustainably too. Light your tree with LED lights to use as little electricity as possible. Choose your Christmas tree ornaments carefully and use them for as long as possible. Even better? Buy your lights, ornaments and decorations second-hand. On Marktplaats, Vinted and in your local thrift shop you will find the most beautiful gems for a pittance. And if you prefer a different colour, you can paint your baubles. We've demonstrated it in this DIY.
This is how to choose a sustainable Christmas tree
A sustainable Christmas tree is best bought as close to home as possible. Choosing a (second-hand) artificial tree that you use for years is a sustainable choice. There are also more and more places where you can adopt or rent a Christmas tree, so that it is replanted instead of being incinerated after use. And if you are feeling creative, make your own alternative Christmas tree from materials you already have around the house.
Old recycled balls in a new look.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: zero waste packing tips for the holidays.
- Also check out this fun Christmas craft: Dutch houses made of old cardboard.
- Also see: this is how to find sustainable wrapping paper.
Source: Milieu Centraal. Photo credits: Christmas tree main photo: Element 5 & Carolina Grabowska (Pexels), cardboard tree: Kartent, branch tree: Юлия Здобнова (Pexels), artificial Christmas tree from the thrift store and DIY balls (thegreenlist.nl).
