An artificial vs. natural showdown.

Editor’s Note, December 2022: Thinking about buying a Christmas tree? We’re bringing back this popular post weighing in on the great debate: pine vs. plastic, which tree is the better option for the planet? And if you decide to go for the ultimate sustainable option this year, check out our ten DIY trees that reuse and recycle.

Cascadia is a global center of Christmas tree farming, harvesting approximately nine million trees per year. Christmas tree farms pepper the region’s landscape, covering nearly 100,000 acres across British Columbia, Oregon (the top Christmas tree-producing state in the United States), and Washington (the fifth-largest producer). Together, these farms may store more than 80,000 tons of CO2 annually, roughly equal to the emissions produced by 17,000 cars in a year.

But is fresh-cut the greener choice? Or are reusable plastic trees, like most reusable goods, the better option? Short answer: with rare exceptions, real trees are better, at least when measured by their climate impact. Here’s a look at some of the biggest sources of greenhouse pollution in the four phases of a tree’s life—production, transport, use, and disposal—based mostly on analyses conducted by Montreal-based consulting firm Ellipsos in 2009 and PE International in 2010.

Production

Manufacturing accounts for nearly 70 percent of total greenhouse gas pollution released during a fake tree’s lifetime. Manufacturers fashion fake trees mostly out of two energy-intensive materials: steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a versatile plastic with an especially polluting production phase.

In contrast, as natural conifers grow, they soak up carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil and their cells. Though estimates vary significantly, growing Christmas trees may sequester nearly one ton of carbon dioxide per acre (see page 8), depending on the type of tree, growing conditions, and a host of other factors. Although each tree releases a portion of this gas at the end of its life as it decomposes or burns, the new crop of replacement trees absorbs a similar amount of carbon.

Transportation

The tree in your living room probably traveled a long way to get to you, accounting for another portion of its carbon footprint.

If you have an artificial tree, it—like 80 percent of artificial trees—probably traveled 1) by truck from a factory in China to a port, 2) across the Pacific Ocean on a container ship, 3) on another truck to your local big-box store, before 4) you finally drove it home. All told, the tree crossed more than 8,400 miles, emitting approximately 9 pounds of CO2, equivalent to driving a car more than 10 miles.

If the tree in your living room is natural, on the other hand, it likely journeyed far fewer miles than its fabricated counterpart. The typical US tree travels approximately 230 miles from 1) the site of seed production to 2) the nursery to 3) the farm to 4) the retailer and finally, 5) to a customer’s home. If you’re typical, you drove between five and seven miles to pick out your tree and bring it home; yet these miles account for as much as 50 percent of your natural tree’s total carbon footprint, according to Ellipsos. Up until that point, your tree traveled with a pack of its peers, making transportation far more efficient than during those last few miles when it was just you, your car, and your tree.

The distance you drive to buy your natural tree is a main determinant in whether your tree is a net sink or source for greenhouse gas pollution over its lifespan. If the trip from home to retailer and back is ten miles or fewer, the tree can act as a net sink of greenhouse gases, according to PE International. Beyond ten miles, it becomes a net source of emissions but may still have a smaller footprint than an artificial tree, depending on the rest of its lifecycle.

Lifespan

The number of years you will reuse a plastic tree is another factor to consider when deciding whether to go natural or...