To buy a fake Xmas tree

[TumbleFryer]

Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve bought a real Xmas tree. I live in central London and they seem to get more expensive every year - usually £40-60 for about a 4-5 foot tree.

I generally try to avoid consuming too much plastic for environmental reasons but I’m wondering if, in the long run, a plastic tree is the more environmentally friendly option.

My reasoning is that a real tree takes resources to grow, harvest and transport every year, as well as taking up cultivated land that might be better used growing food. It then has to be disposed of which seems like such a waste after only being used for a few days/weeks. A plastic tree obviously takes resources to produce and transport too but arguably it could be kept for 10 or 20 years (or maybe even longer).

What do you think? Am I being unreasonable to switch to plastic?

There was an article about this I read somewhere that told you how long you had to keep your tree for it to be the better option.. let me see if I can find it for you.

Can't find it sorry. But it was definitely 10 years or less as that's why we got one. It did depend on how the tree was disposed of. The tree has the benefit of absorbing carbon as it grows.

If you bought a second hand plastic tree that would be zero guilt.. Not sure if you could get a good one though? - though I’m not really sure which types are good anyway.

I am half dreading getting our tree because keeping it wet always means the wall
behind it gets mouldy.. and the thought of sorting it out again after Christmas makes me just so tired. But then, DH would never agree to a fake tree and tbh I wouldn’t want one anyway. I think I’d like a smaller one though and maybe try and be a bit smarter about where we put it..

Actually just checked, there are plenty on my Facebook marketplace. So it would be 0 years if you bought one that was no longer wanted by someone else.

As a child it wasn't Christmas without a real tree! I was so against my DH's idea of a faux tree but we bought the most beautiful John Lewis tree 2nd hand from ebay 4 years ago and I love it! Less mess and already paid for. I'd say go for it, you won't regret it!

I wonder this every year.
Even if you keep a real tree in use for 25 years, it will still be in existence in 300 years, so I can only assume that going for a real tree, which decomposes after use, is better.

I would go for a fake tree but ours is now looking a bit tired it’s 15. So I think a replacement will be required before it’s 20

Every year my big brother buys a real, living tree in a pot. He then plants it after christmas. I'm not sure how much he spends on them but he gets decent sized ones. If you don't have space to plant it yourself you can donate them to a community woodland or similar project.

I think the argument of not having trees so there is more space for food production isn't a good one. If there is one thing we need is more woodland as it helps clean our air, water and soil and it helps to avoid flooding much better than crops ever could, plus it's beneficial for wildlife of course. I am still in real tree camp, and I can't imagine I will ever buy a plastic tree as I just think they don't even look like real trees and I love the smell from a real tree. I'd rather buy a really small real tree, if it's a money thing.

This is what my parents do too as they live right by a forest my aunt owns so it just goes back in there to continue to grow.

We only ever had real trees, then last year we had the same thought as you and bought a second hand false one off FB marketplace for £20. It must have been quite expensive originally because it looks great. I'm looking forward to being able to just get it out of the cupboard again this year.

Aparantly a lot depends on how it is disposed of

I remember the article pp is thinking of, re fake vs real trees and the environmental impact.

I replaced my fake tree last year after 20 ish years. For 20 years the only travel I have done is up and down out of the loft.

So, no carbon cost to transport to a shop 20 times, no carbon cost for it to be transported home, 20 times no carbon cost for disposal. I know it still 'exhists' but it's carbon footprint is still less than that of a living tree.

I have mine away on fb, and acquired 2 'new' trees free on fb, so while there were petrol costs involved, they were local journeys.

And that's way before you even think of the £££ cost. £50 a year for 20 years or £50 or less for a decent/freecycled one that still looks OK laden with baubles adter 20 years?

www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/christmas/eco-friendly-christmas-trees-real-vs-fake/#:~:text=Artificial%20Christmas%20trees%20aren't,tree%20that's%20burned%20after%20Christmas.

This article says a fake tree is 10x more carbon footprint-y than a real one, but whilst happy to include travel from China for the fake ones, doesn't mention travel costs for real trees.

Invest in a great fake tree, then keep it 10+ years.

Balsam Hill make the best fake trees by a million miles. We need a really tall tree - 10/12 feet, which was well over £100 a year for a decent real tree.

Invested in a Balsam Hall tree in the Black Friday sale a couple of years and absolutely love it. It's covered the cost by year 3 and is such good quality it will last a lifetime. Worth the investment for me, certainly.

(And I say this as a reformed addict of real trees for decades and being super judgy about fake trees in the past )

Had real trees when growing up.
Got an artificial one from John Lewis 32 years ago. Still going strong.

We bought a fake tree at a local garden centre when DD was 9 months old, she's 27 now and it still come out every year. We love getting it out every year, it looks just as good now as it did then and I think I've got my money's worth!

We are fake tree converts. In general I am very environmentally conscious and am mindful of plastic consumption. But I know we will be using this one for longer than 25 years - maybe it’ll be the only one we ever buy!

it’s lovely quality and looks very lush and nice.

our main reason for buying it was that every year the choosing of the tree led to a massive argument - I always want the biggest possible and DH the smallest possible. I love Christmas and always got very upset. DH hates fuss and change and always got upset too. So we decided to buy a fake one instead two years ago. Best decision we made. We did have the age old argument when choosing it (I managed to persuade DH on the merits of a 7 footer though!! 😃) but now every year there is no arguing to be done, it just comes down from the loft. it makes our house happy and harmonious on tree putting up day rather than acrimonious.

BUUUUT, if we didn’t have this massive disagreement (ie if DH had been happy to get a big real tree each year, or if I could have been content with a small one…) I suspect we never would have made the switch.

When i was very young we have a gold foil christmas tree. It was a thing of beauty. Then it was real trees for years, and i carried on buying real trees as an adult. But i always felt conflicted about paying to have a tree cut down so i could put it in an unnatural environment and watch it dry out - no matter how strictly i followed the guidance they always dried out. So a few years ago i bought a fake one. It is obviously fake, of course it is, but i no longer feel conflicted.

We have a fake tree. My parents did a mix growing up and when I brought my own place I went real only ( potted and cut) but my son is allergic to them ( I did consider getting rid of him :)) So I invested in a decent fake tree which will last. I would still love a real tree but needs must

I've bought and sold a few second hand artificial trees over the last few years. There's some good stuff on FB.

How about buying a real tree with roots, in a pot, that can live in your garden and you reuse every year?

I’m allergic to real trees so have to have a fake one.

We bought ours in a sale 15 years ago and have used it every year since - it still looks great

There was something about this last year on the bbc website. It said 7 years for a fake tree. We have had ours for 7 now, I think and it's still great so will be keeping it for many more years.

For anyone with a real tree, at least this year our homes will be so cold, they'll last right through December....😏 #shittysilverlinings