This post has been featured as lead story on the HuffPost Green Holidays page.

Bundled up tight and clutching mugs of hot chocolate, we wondered thoughtfully through the fragrant pine forest.  Finally, just as the snow started to pick up, one of us would spot it – the perfect tree.  It was always my brother or me who spotted the tree, but somehow I’m sure my dad pointed us there (or maybe we just spotted every tree until we got the nod).  When my dad crouched beneath this magical tree with his saw, I never failed to feel a pang of guilt.  Surely we shouldn’t be cutting down a tree?  Trees are important.  Didn’t we just plant a tree on Arbor Day?

As a child, these pangs of guilt were short lived and immediately washed away by the warmth and glitter of decorating day.  As an adult, though, the environmental impact of my choices is important to me.

A 2011 study revealed a neck-and-neck (or trunk-and-trunk, if you will) race between real and artificial trees for environmental supremacy.  In the long run, the habits of the individual consumer have weigh much more into the sustainability of either option than do the trees themselves.

Drive Time and Tree Transport

Transportation is one of the most significant environmental impact factors in the holiday tree industry.  It seems obvious to say that an artificial tree shipped from China will have a greater impact than a US grown real tree, but this isn’t always the case.  Mass shipping practices are much more efficient than personally owned vehicles.  Cumulatively, long family trips in search of a real tree may have a greater carbon footprint than mass shipping of artificial trees.  So the first consideration consumers should undertake is comparing the distance to the tree farm or Farmer’s Market versus the distance to wherever they might purchase an artificial tree.  This will also need to be coupled with how many times one plans to make such a trip – every year for real trees, less often (presumably) for artificial trees.  Which brings us to:

Storage and Disposal

Both real and artificial trees contribute to our already overburdened landfills.  The methods consumers choose to dispose of their trees, as well as how long they choose to keep and use their artificial trees, also figure into calculations of which is the more sustainable option.  A consumer needs to reuse an artificial tree for 5 – 10 years in order to establish an environmental impact lower than that of real trees.  One study stated an artificial tree would need to be re-used for 20 years to have this effect.

On the disposal side, real trees seem to come out ahead.  Artificial trees are generally non-biodegradable and will languish in a landfill for centuries, laced with petroleum-based chemicals.  When disposing of an artificial tree, consider donating it to a charity, a needy family, or a re-sale store.  There may also be recycling possibilities available depending on where you live.  Still, the more than 50 million artificial trees in use in the US (as of 2010) have to go somewhere at the end of their lives, and they, unlike real trees, cannot become mulch.

Just because real trees are biodegradable does not mean the landfill is an environmentally conscious disposal solution for them.  Items in a landfill biodegrade very slowly and take up precious space.  With real Christmas trees, there are many “Treecycling” options.  When I was a kid in western Michigan, we had a Christmas tree graveyard in the woods behind our house where our holiday trees when to await their fate as firewood.  When I lived in New York City, a good friend sought out real trees to be chunked up and given as toys to the orangutans at the Bronx Zoo.  At Eastern Market in Detroit, any unsold Christmas trees as the end of the season are turned into mulch for the farmers.  There are several options out there.  The landfill should not be one of them.

Pesticides vs PVC

      The most common indictment levied against artificial Christmas trees is the fact that they usually contain PVC and often lead.  That is enough of a concern for me; I don’t want my baby crawling around beneath a tree that might contain lead (or PVC).  But what about pesticides?  Christmas trees are farmed just like any other crop.  The plus side of this is that when you cut down a live holiday tree, you’re not contributing to deforestation, you’re simply harvesting a crop grown for that purpose.  The downside is that many tree farms use “contemporary” farming practices – meaning pesticides and chemical fertilizers.  I don’t really want my baby crawling around in that, either.  My options are then to either declare this one a toss-up and base my decision on the other factors (and keep my baby well away from the tree, which is about as easy as keeping my cat away from the tree); or to seek out an organic tree farm or an artificial tree company that does not use those chemicals.

Photosynthesis

There are environmental and social benefits to tree farming.  According to Earth911, “A single farmed tree absorbs more than 1 ton of CO2 throughout its lifetime. With more than 350 million real Christmas tress growing in U.S. tree farms alone, you can imagine the yearly amount of carbon sequestering associated with the trees. Additionally, each acre of trees produces enough oxygen for the daily needs of 18 people.”  Further, more than 100,000 people in the US are employed by the live Christmas tree industry.

American Made

      There are also jobs created in the US by the artificial tree industry.  There are a few a few US producers of artificial Christmas trees.  These include, Christmas in America, New Jersey’s Holiday Tree and Trim Co., and USChristmastree.com.

Unique Alternatives

A few years ago, we hatched a plan to have an indoor tree for all holidays.  We purchased a contorted filbert for this purpose one spring.  Sadly, it succumbed to aphids just as it was sprouting leaves.  Still, a year round potted holiday tree is an idea I’m fond of, and one we will probably try again in the future.

Another popular alternative is to purchase a small potted tree and then transplant it outside in the spring.  You can purchase a potted pine tree at most nurseries that will survive the holidays in its pot and can then become a thriving part of your home landscaping.

The Daily Green also recommends decorating an outdoor tree instead of bringing a tree into your home.  This isn’t the ideal alternative for me (or my kids!), but for some people it might be just perfect.  I do remember when I was a kid, we used to run all the extension cords in our house (an my dad was a carpenter, so we had plenty) way out into the woods and string up a white pine with colorful lights.  Then we would make balls of birdseed and peanut butter with paperclip hooks to decorate that tree, our own special holiday offering to nature.  And I remember many winter evenings gazing out our frosted windows at the twinkling lights way out in the snowy woods.

And the Winner is:

In the real vs artificial debate, real trees still come out ahead in my book.  Where we live in Detroit, it’s pretty easy to Make it a Real Michigan Christmas.  If you live in an area where real trees are hard to come by or require a lot of travel, the answer might be different for you.  Either way, please keep in mind that there are a lot more ways to green your holidays than simply choosing the right tree for you.

Lights

Did you know that the lights you choose to put on your tree actually have a much bigger impact than the tree itself?  A switch to LED lights is a major step toward sustainability this holiday season.  LED lights use about 1/6 the amount of energy that “traditional” Christmas lights use.  Just make sure you recycle those old lights!

Paper

      According to Stanford University:

“Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!  If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.”

This year, consider sending digital holiday cards, purchasing paper products made only from 100% post-consumer recycled materials, and re-using other paper products to make cards and wrapping paper.  There are dozens of templates available for converting cereal boxes to gift boxes, plastic bags to festive bows, and more.  Urban Earthworm features a long list of alternative gift card and wrapping paper ideas, including my favorite – homemade seed paper!

Gifts

      What gifts you give this year and where they come from also have a huge impact.  If you can avoid giving “stuff,” that is always a good idea.  I don’t really need any more Harry Potter or Dr. Who memorabilia (really, I don’t…), but a sessions at the local areal yoga gym or someone to do the dishes for me (especially that last one!) would be ideal.  The list of non-material gifts is nearly un-ending and is only limited by your creativity.

Shopping local is another key way to reduce your impact this holiday season.  For those in the Detroit metro region, the local and hand-made gift possibilities are endless.  From the Detroit Merchantile’s Merry Market to Michigan Artisans, there are few excuses not to shop local this season.  Thrift and re-sale shops are also a great alternative, a built-in form of recycling.  I’ll never turn down a thrift-shop pile of books!  And, of course one doesn’t want to overlook all the local offerings at Eastern Market.

If you must purchase online, consider purchasing from a charitable organization.  Nearly every charity offers gifts for sale, with the proceeds going to benefit the works of the organization.  There are also sites like The Animal Rescue Site and Global Girlfriend, which bring together a huge selection of items with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.

Over the River and Through the Woods

      Lastly, always keep in mind the costs of transportation.  The fewer shopping trips you take, the better you are treating the environment.  If you can walk to the stores or take public transit, all the better.  If not, consider trying to consolidate all your shopping into one trip.  Happy (and Green) Holidays to you!

The post Sustainable Holiday Tips and Real vs Artificial Trees appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

According to Stanford University:

“Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!

If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.”

The pointlessness of such waste is nearly incomprehensible.  There are so many wonderful, creative, and beautiful alternatives to wrapping paper and holiday cards, and so many ways to recycle, reuse, and repurpose those that are already in production.  Save some trees (not to mention reducing some of the other pollution caused by the production and dying of mass produced holiday paper products), and save some money with these beautiful, fun, and more sustainable holiday card and gift wrap alternatives:

GIVING:
Green Holiday Card Alternatives

1.  Make your own from recycled materials – There are tons of tutorials out there on using newspaper and other forms of waste paper as gift wrap (see below), but precious few on how to use waste paper to make gift cards, which surprises me.  Look for a tutorial on just that right here on Urban Earthworm very, very soon.

On of my all-time very favorite ways to make my own cards/paper/greetings, is by making home-made seed paper.  This is way easier than it sounds, recycled waste paper, and results in a greeting that can be planted instead of thrown away!  There are many ways to make seed paper, most just involving paper, water, a blender, seeds (the seeds do NOT go in the blender), and a drying method.  Check here for one example.  Once you’ve made your seed paper, use it to write a nice holiday note, print a holiday newsletter on it, or make it into a card by attaching a holiday image cut from an old magazine to it.  Voila!  My hands-down favorite idea.

2.  Purchase cards made of recycled materials – in very much the same vein as discussed in the Gift Giving Guide, if you decide you want to purchase cards to send, there are easy ways to ensure the cards you buy have the smallest negative footprint and the money you spend goes somewhere worthwhile.

Look for cards made from 100% recycled materials – 100% post-consumer recycled is best.

Look for cards whose proceeds benefit a charity.  Last year, we gave cards that benefitted Amnesty International and were printed on recycled paper. (This year my goal is to make the cards).

If you like the custom printed cards like those with family pictures on them, keep in mind that there are many companies out there from which you can get such cards printed on recycled paper with vegetable based ink, such as Greenfield Paper, BuyGreen,  GreenerPrinter, Conserveatree, and My Good Greetings.  That’s just a beginning list of the possibilities.  I haven’t done a lot of research on these, and I can’t endorse any one in particular, but they are all better than just ordering from environmentally irresponsible card printing companies.  Some of those listed even have seed paper cards!

3.  Go Paperless! – I admit that I love getting cards in the mail, even if I do worry about the waste.  Getting mail is fun and personal, which is why many people (including me) shy away from digital holiday greetings, but there are actually a number of ways to send holiday cards online that ARE personal, fun, and unique in addition to being the best choice for sustainability.

Want to send a family newsletter or photo card?  Make one exactly as you would for mass mailing, but email it instead, and attach a personal message to each individual email.

Use your card addressing time to write personal messages to people you would otherwise send impersonal cards to.

Go through the 1,000’s of digital photos we all hoard on our computers these days, and send pictures targeted at the recipients (for instance when you send your holiday greeting to your cousin, include pictures of her at your wedding or from your summer visit to her house).  If you know anyone who has suffered a loss, find pictures of their lost loved one that they may not have.

A popular new trend involves making YouTube or other internet video holiday greetings – there is a LOT of fun potential with that.

This year, I will probably only send paper invitations to a few people, mostly those who don’t use the computer regularly.

Please send me your creative digital card ideas (or any ideas that would fit in this post) and I’ll include them in the list!

Green Wrapping Paper Alternatives

This sections possibly could have been it’s own post.  There are thousands of ideas out there for alternatives to wrapping paper.  I’ve been on board with it for a while, though not with much skill.  I wrapped most of Flintstone’s birthday presents in sheets and pillowcases, but I can’t say it was pretty.  The ideas below, though, they are very pretty, mostly easy (because that’s how I roll), and would make excellent family crafts – a great way to teach the kids about sustainability and not wasting!  And, inspired by the absolute plethora of ideas out there for not only wrapping paper alternatives, but also for reusing wrapping paper, cards, etc., I’ve started a Pinterest board specifically to link to the ideas I couldn’t fit in this post, but which seemed like great ideas.  Check it out.

1. Old Paper – the classic and beloved method of wrapping gifts in old paper is getting new life.  First, I think black and white newsprint with a red bow is just beautiful.  Second, there is so much more potential and creativity that goes into this kind of wrapping these days, the possibilities are nearly endless.  This bodes well for me, because I have a MOUNTAIN of old magazines just waiting to find some second purpose.  Here are some ideas:

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

And it doesn’t stop at wrapping:

Most of these ideas feature old newspaper and magazines, but just look around you, there is waste paper everywhere just waiting to be re-purposed.  My huge desk calendar is destined to be covered in my children’s art (on the blank backs), and used as giftwrap.  Old calendars and phone books.  Out of date maps make particularly adorable wrapping.  You can even customize it.  Old dictionary pages for the grammar nerd.  Comics for your resident class clown.  Discarded architecture plans for the engineer in your life.  The potential for creativity is wide open!  Even old plastic bags (from the days before you got your environmentally friendly canvas bags)  have potential:

2.  Wrap it in something useful – I wrapped MacGyver’s birthday present last year in a new tee-shirt for him.  There are tutorials out there specifically on how to fold shirts as giftwrap.  You can also use scarves, pashminas, fabric scraps (if you or your recipient sew), towels – any fabric really. Use re-usable bags instead of disposable gift bags.  The gift bags you buy in the card section are sometimes 4 or 5 dollars a piece when the reusable shopping bags up front with the cute designs are only 99 cents, and are REUSABLE.  Seems a little obvious.  And even if the paper gift bags are cheaper, they haven’t got a single advantage over re-usable bags – paper bags rip, pollute, and even though they can be reused, they crumple. There are so many absolutely adorable re-usable bags out there that can easily double as gift bags, I honestly see no reason to ever buy a “disposable” gift bag. Check out these reusable gift bags made of recycled materials:

3. Don’t Wrap It; Hide It – Finding baskets on Ostara or Easter is a blast, why not have that fun more often?  And who wouldn’t love opening up their sock drawer and finding a new watch?

4.  Give Experience.  Like This.  – Sometimes the best gifts don’t need to be wrapped at all.  Click the link for ideas of gifts of experience.

Tune in Soon for the next installment:  What to do with all the wrapping paper and holiday cards you receive this year.

* Every image on this post, while public domain, was linked to a tutorial and the creator of the image, but for some reason many of those links got wiped out.  If you own any of the images, please let me know so I can give you credit!

The post Sustainable Holidays: Wrapping Paper and Holiday Card Alternatives appeared first on Urban Earthworm.