Tuesday, 17 November 2009
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Buying a Fake Christmas Tree this Year? Think Again!
I heard for years that buying a fake Christmas tree was better for the environment for so many reasons. Obvious ones being the sheer horror of cutting down a beautiful tree and watching it die in our front room. So I read up on it for myself. The reality of it is quite scary and eye opening to me, at least.
Carcinogen is a scary word. Dioxin, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride are just a few of the carcinogens generated in the making of PVC (polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl). PVC being one of the most environmentally offensive forms of non-renewable petroleum-derived plastics. The potential for things like lead poisoning are great enough that some trees made in China carry a warning label. The first artificial tree is said to be invented in Germany towards the end of the 1800's. Metal wire trees were covered with goose, turkey, ostrich or swan feathers then often dyed green to imitate pine needles. Then in the 1930's, the Addis Brush company created the first artificial brush trees, using the same machinery used in the production of their toilet brushes. The "Silver Pine" made by the company was patented in 1950. Sounds cute.
"According to the Children's Health Environmental Coalition, the manufacture of PVC creates and disperses dioxins, which include the most toxic manmade chemical known. Released into air or water, dioxins enter the food chain, where they accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans, a potential risk for causing cancer, damaging immune functions and impairing children's development" . Sounds not so cute.
Not to mention, 85% of artificial trees are imported from China.
As noted in the Washington Post, "On the concrete floors of Zhang's Shuitou Company factory, migrant workers, most earning about $100 a month, squat in front of hissing machinery as they melt chips into moildable plastic..."
The cost of transporting almost ten million fake trees a year? I can't even imagine. The pollution created by the travel itself. I don't even want to think about it.
Among the other reasons not to buy a fake Christmas tree, here's a couple more reasons to go with natural:
1. Recycling. It is impossible to separate and recycle your artificial Christmas tree. It must be thrown away with your garbage.
2. Fire.
In 2004, the Farmington Hills Fire Department in metropolitan Detroit conducted a test of how real and artificial trees react in a house fire. The artificial tree, which was advertised as “flame retardant,” did resist the flames for an amount of time, but then was engulfed in flames and projected significant heat and toxic smoke, containing hydrogen chloride gas and dioxin.
Below are the before, during and after photos of the artificial tree.
Compare the above photos to those of the well-cared-for Real Tree, which remained mostly intact, as seen below:
Now there's a lot of reason to buy natural, such as the jobs it gives the community, and income for farmers once the winter season rolls around. I like the day me and my family get all bundled up and head to a local farm to pick out our own tree. It's a great activity to choose your tree, bring it home, decorate and enjoy it. Gives your home a festive scent and a great authentic look. Once Christmas is over, there are plenty of ways to recycle your tree or, some elementary schools offer free tree chipping, in which they use the chippings for mulch around the school. Another possibility is to be a live tree with roots intact and then plant it in your own backyard. Since the trees "hibernate" for the winter, you should only keep your tree indoors for about a week before the tree "wakes up" and starts growing with the heat of your home.
What type of tree are you planning on getting this year? What are your reasons for getting a fake or real tree?
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- From: summer_soda_like@xanga
- Name: summer_soda_like
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Comments (76)
Wow, what an eye opener! We just bought our first artificial tree this year, but I think I'll try a real one once we have children after reading this. Thanks for posting the informative article!
I don't buy trees at all. I don't know how a tree has anything to do with christmas. lol. So. I just leave it out. I don't know why there's presents either, but I guess it makes more sense than the tree. And. I like getting presents!
Living on the gulf coast, there just aren't many affordable real trees. My parents have been using the same fake tree since before I was born. It's just more economical.
Since this will be my first christmas out of my parent's homes I really don't know yet what me and my fiance are doing! I was thinking of just getting a small fake tree to sit on the kitchen table, instead of going all out. But hearing about how they can be harmful to pets kind of puts me off, my pets are very important to me. To wrap this up, still unsure. :P
If and when I buy a tree for christmas, it will be a fake tree, simply because I have no choice in the matter since I suffer from hay fever and would not be able to breathe if a real tree was in my house.
When I saw this I started laughing to myself because I just had a conversation with a friend yesterday about this exact topic. He had informed me of how bad fake trees can be for the environment and for people, I had no idea but never liked them anyhow.
i'm using a fake one, just because a real tree makes too much of a mess.
We always had real ones when I was little, and they're so much prettier.
We quit buying real trees when we noticed that everyone in our family would get sick and stay sick the entire time the tree was in the house. Turns out that everyone was allergic to the trees. So give whatever reason you want, but I like staying healthy throughout the Holidays.
Fake ones have worked for my family for years.
We have an artificial tree that we have had for about 28 years. We bought it on Christmas eve at a drugstore after suddenly having my husbands two children who were supposed to spend winter holidays with their birth mom left on our front doorstep with nothing but the clothes on their backs on Christmas eve. We bought it because the drugstore was the only thing open at midnight on Christmas eve and we wanted the chlildren to have a tree, stockings etc. when they woke up in the morning. We still use it, the very same tree because we have people with allergies/asthma in the house who can't handle a live tree and because it has sentimental value now. All Christmas tree lights, decorations,candles, extension cords etc can be dangerous and need to be monitored and respected. I'm sure you are right about the environmental impact of so many plastic trees being made and distributed. About the fires though I think you are a bit off. I believe that the statistics will show that cut trees cause more fires than artificial trees even if the artificial ones may burn in a worse way they are not as likely to catch fire at all. Here is a quote source from the national fire protection association in this regard. I happened to know that death rates are dropping as increase in use of artificial trees because I have a fireman or two in the family. "Based on these codings, fires involving natural trees outnumber fires involving artificial trees by about 3-to-2, and the ratios are higher for associated losses –4 or 5-to-1 for civilian deaths, 3 or 3-½-to-1 for civilian injuries, and 3-½-to-1 for direct property damage. Polling data on relative use of artificial vs. natural Christmas trees shows a substantial and growing majority of artificial trees. This implies a considerably higher fire risk with natural trees.7" link to data is here see page 14 for this quote
What if you re-use a fake christmas tree for several years? Are there any eco-friendly christmas trees?
When I moved to Atlanta, my family and I were excited to learn that the climate there is warm enough for people to have LIVE christmas trees. They came in a pot of soil and were still growing. You decorate them as usual, but at the end of the season you plant it in your backyard. It was nice because one of our neighbors had done that for years, and she had a long history of past holidays in her backyard. Even in northern climates, it's a good idea to check a nursery and see if they have any cute evergreens that would survive the winter if planted outside in January. Just as a warning: if you buy a live tree, it probably won't be 6' tall.
We have a fake tree. And we will always have a fake tree. Our oldest daughter is highly allergic to pine trees (and their sap) and has terrible asthma that prevents us from having a real tree. Additionally, those little pine needles constantly falling on the floor aren't safe for babies.. and it's nearly impossible to keep those suckers swept up 24/7 without a curious baby putting one into their mouth. Artificial trees have been around for a long time, and while I'm sure they are highly flammable, and that they put off a ridiculous amount of toxins when *on fire* I'm sure that anyone with half a brain will be try to avoid lighting their Christmas tree on fire. I think the pesticides that are sprayed on a live Christmas tree would be just as dangerous (if not more so) to children and pets.
Also.. your house is probably full of PVC. The pipes in your plumbing, toilets, drains etc are all PVC pipes.
I love supporting local Christmas Tree farms!
wow I had no idea!
however, since we've had our fake tree for years and years (over ten, I'm guessing), i think it's environmental impact is a lot less than my family buying a real tree every christmas.
regardless, i'm never buying a brand new fake one!
as far as point #1 on recycling - isn't the *point* of the fake tree to use it many years in a row? Maybe it won't be recycled in the end, but as one of your other commentators said, some people keep theirs for 10, 20, 30 years! So cost is a factor as well.
My family still uses the same fake tree that we bought 15 years ago, lol. looks good though.
I prefer a real tree, but have had the same, fake, tree for years. We'll be putting up the fake one this year. It's expensive to get a real one, and I will be on maternity leave.
@actualization@xanga - really? i live in california and i've seen live xmas trees 6'+ tall. my boyfriend is 6' and it was taller than him, that's how i measure lol.
i don't decorate a tree during the holidays, but they are always so nice to look at. i kinda just want to decorate my potted bamboo i have at home :S
@thegreenlinda@xanga - They exist, they're just VERY expensive.
love going tree hunting with my family. love it. we started it my senior year of high school. i begged and pleaded since the last real tree we had i dont remember. i was a baby and we were up north. my mom found a christmas tree farm about an hours drive away from us and we went. now its a tradition. its kind of turned into a competition to see who can find the biggest tree. i won, mine wouldnt fit through the bailer. i digress. mom doesnt help decorate because she has allergies but its just fun for the whole family. the finding and cutting and dragging home and then decorating. and the wildlife you sometimes get too. always a good time. =)
@Fairywife@xanga - They come from Yule.
We have a fake because we have two small children and three small animals. I don't really have time to constantly be cleaning up from a real tree, not to mention the fact that I don't feel like spending $50 to $100 every year for a real tree. We spent $100 on our fake and so far have used it for four years. It'll be great for several more years.
I think this is one of those issues where you could argue from either side.
@MistressAislin@xanga - I know.
If we decide to put a tree up this year, it will definitely be fake. The real ones stink, make a mess, are pains in the rear to clean up, and if ya don't keep em watered, you get the above pictures.
We had a real one last year...the year before that (before kids) we had a 12" potted tree. I love the smell...I'm such a sucker...everything else be damned! Though I will admit to falling for my mother's fake white tree with all black ornaments. Visually, it's simply beautiful and is tempting me...if I find a good deal on one after Christmas or someone willing to give one away on Freecycle in the next week or two? I maybe a convert... *running off to post a 'wanted' for one*
On the fire issue...I'll agree with @tsh44@xanga 100% on this one; real ones are much more likely to catch fire. The key words in this article were, "well-cared-for"... Can I get the folks that use real trees to stand up and be honest? How long is it before you get caught up in the holiday chaos forget to water the thing? Or the cats/dog discover their "new water dish"...right next to their "new blanket" [tree skirt]...and suck it dry before you have time to notice? Yeah. Come December 26th? Mine tends to be pathetically dry...as is the case with everyone else that I've known to have real trees. Realistically cared for trees might not produce the hazardous fumes, but they're not gonna look like that picture either...
We don't leave the lights on when we're not home or after we've gone to bed...basically, if they're on? We're within view of it (otherwise, what's the point?), with the fire extinguisher housed just the opposite side of the counter as we set up the tree...which is also next to the fiance`'s prized TV & Blu-Ray player. If any tree that we have were to catch on fire, it would be put out so quickly - insert image of Tim hopping the kitchen counter in one ninja-quality leap and busting out the extinguisher in one fluid motion here LOL - that nobody would be at risk. (We also have a cat whom has appointed himself our house firemarshall. Everytime we cycle the oven to self-clean or the kids open the sliding door while roasting marshmellows in the backyard, Tiger sings to Heavens!)