Fake Or Real? The Debatable Christmas Tree Dilemma

It's a bit early for Christmas, but there are many who are currently preparing their homes, both inside and outside, for the holidays. And one of the many dilemmas for the holidays is that between a real or artificial Christmas tree. Here's how the whole thing breaks down.

Artificial trees are a way of buying a tree that you simply put up over many Christmases--depending of course on the quality and how well it's stored. You get plenty of use from it at a fraction of the cost of that many real trees. The downside is that they are not considered environmentally friendly, given that they are often constructed with fossil fuels, they off-gas something awful, and they don't biodegrade when disposed of. (The question here is what in our daily lives is not made from fossil fuels, off-gases, and is non-biodegradable when disposed of.). 

Real trees are wonderfully piny and beautiful and, well, real. However, while there is a romantic notion of going out to the wild and chopping one down, most people purchase them from tree farms that grow the trees year round, then sell them at Christmas. One objection to purchasing a real tree, from a sustainability perspective, is the use of pesticides in the farming of the trees; for not only are the chemicals harming the environment such farms are believed to foster, they're more importantly harming those farmers exposed to them. And there are, as of yet, very few organic tree farms in North America. 

This is where the environmental/sustainability argument can become problematic from a purchasing perspective: With the rhetoric foisted upon consumers from both sides, suddenly a decision about something as simple as purchasing a Christmas tree becomes a choice of the lesser of two evils. 

This is where common sense needs to be put into play: as you stack up the arguments from both sides, neither is really better than the other. The choice should remain one of responsibility, personal research, good consumer decision-making, and what works best for your situation. You want to make sure the materials your fake tree is a composite of are not lead-based PVC. And, you want to be mindful of the way a chemically-sprayed tree is going to alter the health of your home environment.