Christmas without a tree? Unthinkable for most of us. But how can we reconcile a Christmas tree with our ecological conscience and which alternatives are there? We’ve done some research and love to share our findings with you.

Christmas trees in rank and file

To meet the high demand of Christmas trees, there are plenty of Christmas tree plantations all over the world – and mostly they are not eco-friendly. On the plantations, the trees grow in monoculture and the aim is to have perfect trees. To achieve this, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are used. Bad for the environment and also bad for us, because the Christmas trees bring these toxins into our living room. To avoid long transportation routes, it’s good to buy trees regionally and even better to choose a tree with an ecological certification. Read more about eco-friendly Christmas trees at eco-age and if you’re living in the UK, you can find sustainably grown trees from the Forestry England. However, even a regional and ecological tree needs to grow for 5-10 years before he moves in with us only or a couple of few weeks.

A “living” Christmas tree

For many people, a potted Christmas tree is an alternative. They are usually smaller but can be replanted after the holidays. That did not work out for us at the last attempt – perhaps because of the temperature shock or because the roots of the tree have been shortened and injured before it was potted, which happens sometimes. The chances for the tree to survive, however, rise when you expel it directly after Christmas, at the latest on New Year’s Eve. Find a cool place for your tree, for example in the stairwell or the basement. Water regularly and do not forget to plant the tree out in spring, preferably in your garden.

In some of our hotels, you will find Christmas trees in a pot, for example at Biohotel Sturm and at the Creativhotel Luise in Erlangen. To present it at the Creativhotel, a glass cabinet has been converted into a kind of greenhouse and the tree is now in an old wooden cabinet. “So far, we’re happy without the typical Christmas decorations, we simply hang crystal balls on the ceiling of the showcase, which sparkle and remind us of snow. All in all, we wanted to create the most natural look possible that fits in with our sustainable concept,” says Laura Gumbmann from Creativhotel Luise. “That said, it was important for us to use a living tree that we can plant out in the garden and reuse next year.”

Plastic instead of natural trees

Is a plastic tree an alternative? Not really. Theoretically, it could be reused every single year, but practically nobody does that and the plastic tree ends up in the trash way too soon. In addition, it had to be elaborately manufactured and has a long transport route before it can be bought. After all, a real tree can become humus again and we all know what happens to the plastic waste…

Hidden beauties against the beauty mania of Christmas trees

Did you know that year after year, countless Christmas trees don’t even make it into regular trade due to alleged flaws? The Berlin startup Better Foodprint opposes the beauty mania of Christmas trees and sells “Hidden Beauties” – trees with charm and character. Last year, at least 300 trees could be saved. “10 to 25 percent of the German Nordmann firs won’t be sold because of their appearance. Let alone for the trees purchased every year in Germany around Christmas, you could save an acreage about 10,000 football fields if each fourth would be satisfied with an imperfect tree. It’s already clear to anyone when it comes to carrots or cucumbers, but not to trees,” says Frederik v. Paepcke, founder of Better Foodprint.

The principle is simple: you pick a tree online and it will be delivered to your doorstep. We had the “respectable Alina” last year. Of course, shipping causes CO2. We wanted to know from Frederik if that’s a problem: “The Hidden Beauties are hopefully loaded onto a truck with many others. Because of the economies of scale, the carbon footprint is usually less than a ride in your car to the next farmer and back, “says the founder. “Besides, we offset the CO2 emissions from transport by investing in climate protection projects. All in all, when you buy at Better Foodprint, we always compensate for twice as much CO2 as you emit. Add to this the trees that we will also plant – and which will grow much longer than any Christmas tree.” Our “respectable Alina” was indeed very handsome and it would have been a shame to just throw her away. “When it comes to all positive and negative emissions, we should be with our concept the most sustainable alternative – despite the shipping,” summarizes Frederik.

This year, my family and I decided to order a “split tree” – and there is good reason for that name: “We saw trees from 140 cm up at a suitable spot, drill two small holes in the trunk and send you two small wooden sticks with which you can easily put it back together.”, so the description in the online shop. I can’t wait to see how that works 🙂

Rent instead of buying

Incidentally, you can also rent Christmas trees in a pot, depending on where you live. In Germany, you can rent trees for example at Paderbäumchen, Weihnachtsbaumfreunde or Greentree (who also delivers trees to Vienna and Graz). There are many suppliers in the US and England (like LoveAChristmasTree or Rent a Christmas) who will pick up Christmas trees in pots after the festival and plant them for you. If you have experience with tree rentals, we would be happy about comments because we have never tried it ourselves.

Of course, it is also possible to celebrate Christmas without a tree: With Washi-Tape you can shape a tree at your wall, you can paint a white bed sheet, decorate an old wooden ladder or screw a tree from wooden slats or branches yourself – just let your imagination run wild!

Have you ever thought about building your own reusable Christmas tree? On The L’Oven Life Jackie writes about her Christmas tree which is built anew every year from her family. 

What to do with your tree after Christmas

If you had a small tree just cut it up for organic waste or burn it in your fireplace. Otherwise, there might be collection points in your city too – do not dispose of your tree in the forest. Chemically treated Christmas trees won’t rot well and organic trees will take years to decompose completely.

You don’t want your tree to end up in a landfill? Let it have a second life! You can find upcycling ideas at The New York Times, at Gracious Gardening and at The Spruce.

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