Fake Trees

Where do they come from?

Most fake trees are made of metals and plastic.

Most fake trees (85%) in the U.S. are imported from China, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

What are fake trees made of?

Most artificial Christmas trees are made of metals and plastics. The plastic material, typically PVC, can be a potential source of hazardous lead.

Why do some artificial trees carry a warning label?

Lead can sometimes be found in artificial trees.The potential for lead poisoning is great enough that fake trees made in China are required by California Prop 65 to have a warning label.

Who decided to make a fake Christmas tree?

Actually fake trees were invented by a company who made toilet bowl brushes, the Addis Brush Company. Regardless of how far the technology has come, it’s still interesting to know the first fake Christmas trees were really just big green toilet bowl brushes. Read the article.

Are fake trees better for the environment?

Artificial trees are a petroleum-based product manufactured primarily in Chinese factories. The average family uses a fake tree for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill indefinitely. That’s a pretty hefty, long-term environmental burden. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in most artificial trees has been boycotted by many environmental groups.

This issue is especially concerning due to China’s weak enforcement of environmental regulations.

A farm-grown, real Christmas tree has the upper hand. While they’re growing, Real Christmas Trees absorb carbon dioxide and other gases and emit fresh oxygen. They are grown on farms just like any crop. Christmas tree farmers plant new seedlings every spring to replace those harvested. There are about 350 million conifer trees growing on Christmas tree farms in the U.S. alone. These trees would not exist if not planted by Christmas tree farmers. Christmas Trees farms stabilize the soil, protect water supplies and support complex eco-systems. And of course, farm-grown Christmas trees can be recycled, whereas fake trees cannot.