Timber Lane Christmas Tree Farm

Why Buy a Real Christmas Tree?

They Help our Environment and they're AMERICAN MADE!!

Real vs. Plastic?

Many consumers will be asking themselves that question this holiday season.

In this age of enviornmental awareness it's appropriate to know a favorite family holiday tradition of choosing a real Christmas tree over an artificial tree is still the environmentally sound choice.

• Real Christmas trees are an all-American product, grown in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.  Most artificial trees are manufactured in Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong.
• Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource.  Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and metals.
• For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.
• There are about 1 million acres in production for growing Christmas trees.  Each acre provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.

Real Christmas Trees Are Renewable

Real Christmas Trees are grown on farms just like any other crop.  To ensure a constant supply, Christmas growers plant one to three new seedlings for every tree they harvest.

On the other hand, artificial trees are a petroleum-based product manufactured primarily in Chinese factories.  The average family uses an artificial for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill for centuries after disposal.

Quick Tree Facts

• There are approximately 30 - 35 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year.
• An estimated 175,000 Real Christmas Trees are sold via e-commerce or catalogue and shipped mail-order.
• North American Real Christmas Trees are grown in all 50 states and Canada.  Eighty-five percent (85%) of artificial trees sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China.
• Real Trees are a renewable recyclable resource.  Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and possible metal toxins such as lead.
• For every Real Christmas Tree harvested, up to 3 seedlings are planted in its place the following spring.
• There are about 21,000 Christmas Tree growers in the U.S., and over 100,000 people employed full or part-time in the industry.

Taken from the National Christmas Tree Association web site, www.christmastree.org

The Environmental Load of Christmas Trees

A Natural Tree, grown in natural suroundings, is five times more evnironmentally compatible than a plastic tree.  Such are the findings of a Swedish study undertaken by the Institute for Air and Environment in Gothenburg.

The study is based on an analysis of the life cycle of natural trees and plastic trees (live vs. artificial).  But that the difference between the two is as pronounced as the study shows, may astound most.

The plastic tree used in the study was bought at one of the Swedish capital's exclusive warehouses:  a beautiful and apparently natural fir, made of PVC-plastic and metal, with a convincingly attractive green color.  The plastic tree was 20kg (44 lbs).  It carried a 10-year guarantee.  The artificial tree was made in Hong Kong, then transported the 20,000 km (12,400 miles) to Stockholm by ship.

The natural tree of the study was 10-years old, 2m       (6 1/2 feet) high and weighing 10 kg (22 lbs), and arrived on the back of a truck.

The 10-year guarantee on the plastic tree gives the artificial product a great advantage.  It means that the strain the natural tree exerts on the environment is multiplied by 10 before the results have been compared.

In practice one would hardly use the same tree 10 yers in a row - plastic tree or not, regardless of the guarantee.  If one, for example, sets the actual life span of the plastic tree at five or six years, the environmental load would of course, be much greater in relation to the real Christmas tree.

Taken from www.valentine.gr/environmental-chrtees_en.htm.