The Refinishing Touch Blog

For years, Christmas tree lovers have been divided over which is better: real or artificial Christmas trees?

While there are several arguments in favor of artificial over real, it may surprise you to know that the environment isn’t one of them. In fact, although they last for years, artificial trees are much more harmful to the environment due to the high levels of carbon emissions caused by their production and the fact that the plastic trees take years to break down in landfills.

Unfortunately, despite their negative impact on the environment, fake trees are seeing an increase in popularity as consumers try to save money by purchasing reusable trees.

Still, the benefits of buying a real tree far outweigh those of buying an artificial one. For example, the carbon emissions created from artificial tree production is equal to driving 120 miles, while those created from the use of real trees is about the same as driving only 10 miles. Also, real trees are often recycled by thousands of private and governmental programs that take holiday trees and grind them into mulch or landscaping chips for use in other industries.

While all the environmental benefits of real trees are the right reasons to keep it real during the holidays, we here at TRT also know that it just wouldn’t be Christmas without that evergreen smell.