Is Christmas Sustainable?

For the first time in decades, the United States is on the precipice of a Christmas tree shortage threatening to shatter the family tradition of picking out the perfect tree to spread holiday cheer. It turns out that the Great Recession from the early 2000’s caused a drastic drop in demand for Christmas trees. The old Druid tradition of dragging a live tree into a house is still a tradition in a modern times. Tree farmers plant new trees to replace their harvest each year. So, when consumers allocated their limited resources elsewhere, tree farmers could not plant the new crop to sell in the 13 to 14 year growing cycle.

Limited land, desired tree height, disease and drought all can have negative impacts on Christmas tree farmers. Consumers only desire a certain size that will fit in their house. Pines larger than six feet, and pines shorter than 4 feet are not desirable. The pines planted in the years before are too tall for most consumers. Conversely, the pines planted later are too short in stature. So in 2017, the repercussions of the recession are still being felt in a manner that probably wasn’t anticipated. A lot of consumers are considering buying artificial trees.

There are even some artificial tree manufacturers marketing their product as more sustainable than cutting down a perfectly healthy pine tree. What about the materials that go into producing the artificial tree? What is their composition? From where are they sourced? What are the transportation costs? How about fuel consumption and exhaust fumes? So, is the carbon footprint of an artificial tree larger than that of a real pine tree being harvested?

Farmers’ Markets all across the nation have seen a resurgence of popularity through farm to table initiatives. Will the same movement happen with local Christmas tree farmers?

-Sonia Clemens