Christmas trees: real or fake?
Updated: Feb 15
If you haven’t got your Christmas tree yet because you can’t decide whether to go for a real tree or a fake tree - we’ve got you covered! Here are some tips on selecting an eco-friendly Christmas tree.
Which eco-friendly christmas tree shall I go for?
Plastic christmas trees have a high carbon footprint
We’ve got some bad news: a 2 meter plastic tree can have a carbon footprint of up to 40kg CO2e according to the Carbon Trust (the same as driving more than 150 km in a petrol car!). Real trees have a much lower footprint - 16kg CO2e if they end up in landfill (hello methane emissions) and even a negative footprint if they’re turned into wood chips or kept in your garden until next year!
Go for local and responsibly grown christmas trees
Go for a natural tree if you can, slow and locally grown with roots (potted), FSC certified and better yet - one that you can borrow every year! Avoid imported fast growing trees without roots. Just a few ideas:
Netherlands: Beter Boompje
Ireland: ChristmasTree.ie
Germany: Wundertree
Or - keep the plastic tree you already have
If you already have a plastic tree - keep it! They are difficult to recycle so the longer you use it for the better. Try and get as close to 10 years as you can - challenge accepted?
Go for eco-friendly christmas tree decorations
Got your eco-friendly christmas tree? Time to get creative. Christmas decorations are often made from plastic and aren’t recyclable (looking at you, tinsel!). So what can you do?
We love creating our own Christmas tree decorations with these cute origami 3D stars. Just add string and you’ve got yourself some colorful homemade (and recyclable) decorations!
Check out your local charity shop and upcycle any decorations you find there!
Go for LED lights on your tree (they use less energy) and don’t forget to turn them off at night ;)
Got any old fruit lying around? Make these cool dried fruit ornaments.
Do what you can, compensate for what you can’t
Done all the things above to get your eco-friendly christmas tree? Nice one! You’re making a difference by doing what you can. Plus your guests will be inspired by all the things you’ve done 🤗. Did you know you can do more with Club Leaf by compensating for your remaining emissions this Christmas?
How does it work?
For the price of a cup of coffee a month (depending on your footprint) you can compensate for your carbon footprint by supporting real impact on the ground. Our portfolio of projects helps to avoid, reduce and remove CO2 from the atmosphere with trackable impact. Check out our projects and impact so far here
Download the app to measure your footprint and compensate for your Christmas!