Real Christmas trees absorb carbon dioxide and other gasses and emit fresh oxygen. Every acre of Christmas trees grown produces the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people. Farms that grow Christmas trees stabilize soil, protect water supplies and provide refuge for wildlife while creating scenic green belts. Often, Christmas trees are grown on soil that won’t support other crops.

Real Christmas trees are a renewable resource grown on farms like other agricultural crops. Grown on sustainable farms, real trees are cultivated like produce, nuts or other crops, and do not threaten natural forests – a common misconception. Additionally, real Christmas trees are renewable and growers’ plant one to three to replace every tree they harvest. Real trees can also be recycled and turned into mulch or compost or they can be sunk in ponds/lakes to provide fish bedding and feeding cover, so no waste goes into landfills.

In contrast to real Christmas trees, artificial trees are a petroleum-based product manufactured primarily in factories located in China. The average family uses an artificial tree for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill for centuries after disposal. According to The Sierra Club, “PVC products are dangerous to our health and the environment from start to finish — in the factory, at home, and in the trash — releasing poisonous chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.” They are also partly made out of lead for the stand and limbs.