Real Christmas Trees Budding Allies

Last year in June you may recall my blog on the American Christmas Tree Association. I was responding to an article the ACTA posted on their web-site titled, "Carbon Footprint Study Finds Artificial Christmas Trees Best for the Environment". I dedicated that blog The American Christmas Tree Association, As Fake as Their Christmas Trees to refuting the false claims of the ACTA.This year I was surprised to see the ACTA has changed its tune.

The article below which draws its information from the ACTA web-site is now saying both real and artificial Christmas trees are a green choice. Why this self-contradiction one year later? The only thing which comes to mind is the old English proverb, "If you can't beat them, join them". The ACTA is starting to come around. Next year real Christmas trees should have another ally.

 

Buy a fresh Christmas Tree online at http://www.atreeforchristmas.com. Shipping is Free! Use coupon code HASSLEFREE to receive 10% off your entire order.

Not the Only Christmas Tree In a Box

I was reading the article “Real Christmas Trees Vs. Artificial: How to Choose”. The bottom line for why to choose an Artificial Tree was:

“Artificial Christmas trees are perfect for on-the-go families and those with a low patience threshold. It's simply a tree-in-a-box---literally. If you're short on time, on a tight budget, or just don't want to venture out in the frightful weather, an artificial Christmas tree could be just what you need.”

What author of the is article must not realize is that her argument for the fake tree could also be made for ordering your real Christmas tree from ATreeForChristmas.com

-“perfect for the on-the- go families and those with a low patience threshold.” It doesn’t get easier than ordering online and having your real Christmas tree shipped right to your door. For those of you of who have ever tried to put together a fake Christmas tree, you know it is like piecing it together a 3-D jigsaw puzzle, trying to manipulate metal and plastic to create a natural look. I don’t really see how that is good for people with a low patience threshold.

-“It’s simply a tree-in-a-box---literally.” Literally when you order your real Christmas tree from ATreeForChristmas.com it comes right to your door in … get this… a box. No really, it is shipped in a box and you don’t even have to put it together.

-“Short on time” it takes less than five minutes to order online, and you don’t have to wait in a checkout line.

-“on a tight budget” with free shipping from one of the largest Christmas trees farms in the US, you get the highest quality Christmas tree for the very best price.

- “Don’t want to venture out in the frightful weather” How about you just open your front door.
I think that the author of this article made some great points, but not in favor of the fake Christmas tree. Choose the other Christmas tree in a box this year, it could be just what you need.

To order your real Christmas tree in a box go to the website ATreeForChristmas.com. Use the code HASSLEFREE and save 10% off your entire order.

The year my Mother Stole the Christmas Tree

It’s that time of year, the temperature has dropped and we can start listening to and singing Christmas Carols without feeling guilty, or getting dirty looks. As it begins to look a lot like Christmas I like to think back to some of my favorite Christmas memories. There was the year I got a ballerina costume, it was the same Christmas that my brother got a bike that was too big for him and he had to stand on the bumper of the station wagon to even get on. Then there was the year my mom stole our Christmas tree. I’m not saying she pulled a Grinch and stole Christmas; no she actually stole a Christmas tree.

Growing up my mother’s least favorite holiday activity was getting the Christmas Tree. She always seemed to wait so long to get one and as we got older she seemed to wait even longer. So that particular year we were all off at college and we came home for Christmas to no Christmas tree at all. Mom said that she had just been waiting for us to get there. So Christmas Eve evening, my mother and brother set out to get our real Christmas tree. They came back with the prettiest tree that we had ever had! When asked where she got such a beautiful tree on Christmas Eve, my mother’s response was “we found it on the ground.”

Come to find out they did find it on the ground, the ground of a Christmas tree lot that was closed. My Mother is not allowed to “find” the Christmas tree anymore and this year I am just sending her one from ATreeForChristmas.com, that way we don’t have to worry about potential incarceration during the holiday season.

Have a favorite Christmas memory that you would like to share on our blog, send it to socialmedia@ductmantreefarms.com and don’t forget you can “find” your real Christmas Tree at www.ATreeForChristmas.com get 10% off when you use the promo code HASSLEFREE.

Order Your Christmas Tree Online This Black Friday

Strategies, routes, teams formed all with the mission to divide and conquer. Only Military attacks and intense games of Risk can be compared to the national pastime we call Black Friday. Our Mothers, sisters, aunts and well… I have even seen fathers play this intense game of fighting the crowds for faddish toys and deals on electronics. For some people pushing, shoving and checkout lines will put them in the Holiday spirit. I personally would rather keep my sanity.

This year I am going to keep it simple, mouse in one hand, leftover turkey sandwich in the other. These days, when most of the Black Friday deals are available online, why not shop in your PJs while you’re snacking on some leftovers. For those who really enjoy minimizing holiday stress, maybe ordering your Christmas tree online might be just the thing for you. With ATreeForChirstmas.com you can point, click and buy your fresh cut Christmas tree or wreath and have it shipped right to your door.

But for those of you whose thirst for the Black Friday battle, will have you up in the wee hours of the morning, imagine coming home after the satisfaction of shopping domination. Drop your bags and remove your running shoes, as your adrenaline begins to slow you can mark another thing off your holiday list by ordering your real Christmas tree online. So whether you’re fighting the crowds or enjoying your leftovers, every sale lover can get 10% off their entire order with free shipping.

Go to www.ATreeForChristmas.com and use the promo code: HASSLEFREE to get 10% off.

How Green are We?

I learned so much today about Dutchman Tree Farms after having to ask myself… How green are we? Well actually The National Parks Association asked me that question. They want to know how green we are before they endorse us for our green 2 green fundraiser. They asked me about the boxes we use to ship our products in, our fertilizers and our pesticides. When I get asked questions, I usually ask questions and I usually just ask Google, but today I asked the Dutchman Tree Farm growers. With these guys coming in and out of the office all day I was in the perfect spot to stop and ask each of them, Exactly how green are we?

While none these guys knew whether our boxes were recycled or not, I did learn quite a few things about how we do things here at Dutchman Tree Farms:
We prefer to use natural fertilizers, ashes, lime, peat moss and I was told that this year we have used more manure than ever before. We also use cover crops that are then cultivated into the ground. Any other fertilizers we use are used minimally.

As far as pesticides, I learned that because of the gypsy moth we have to spray all of our trees before we can ship them. Check out this link for the gypsy moth and you will see why using some pesticides is very important.

Other than that we use no pesticides that are considered dangerous and the pesticides that we do use, we use conservatively. We have good credibility with the Department of Agriculture and we also allow natural pest to be natural pest when they are protecting our Christmas Trees.

Other tid bits of info I picked up: We have a very extensive water conservation system. After we harvest, the stumps are ground and reticulated into the soil. Because of this, some of the sandy soil that we have is richer in nutrients after one harvest than in the 40 years prior. We replant several times more seedling than what we harvest.

So after my multiple horticultural lessons, I feel really good about working at Dutchman Tree Farms and can say that we are an environmentally friendly farm. Oh, and for our boxes… they are made of 100% recycled paper. So when you order your Christmas Tree or a Live Christmas Tree, from ATreeForChristmas.com, you can feel good too.

Would you like to ask a Christmas Tree Grower a question? Go to ATreeForChristmas.com and click the Ask Your Grower Tab.

Use the code: HasselFree and save 10% off your intire order at ATreeForChristmas.com

Buy Your Real Christmas Tree Online this Year

Yes that is correct. I said real, natural and American grown Christmas tree. I did not say artificial Christmas tree.

I am getting rather tired of always reading, "Buy your Christmas Tree Online" and when I follow the link, only then do I find out it is an artificial tree. This is why Dutchman Tree Farms decided to sell real Christmas Trees online.

Most of the employees on our farm have families and understand how busy Christmas time can become. Shopping, relatives, meals, kids, husband, wife and the list goes on. This is one reason why we decided to give you opportunity to have your real Christmas tree delivered right to your front door, freshly cut from our farm.

When you go to a Christmas Tree lot looking for the "perfect" tree you might not find it. Depending on which lot you go to you may not know when the Christmas tree you are buying was cut. It could have been cut, yes, months ago. How much more life will it have by the time it is in your living room? Only time will tell.

Ordering online gives you the convenience of ordering at almost any time of the year. You are free to pick the day it is to be delivered to your door. Right before your tree is sent Dutchman Tree Farms sends a Christmas Tree specialist to go and select the finest tree from the fields to be harvested. After harvest it is immediately packed up and shipped to you.

When you open the box you will immediately know this is the freshest tree you ever bought, and as it proudly stands in your living room you will realize it is also probably the most beautiful Christmas Tree you spent your money on.

Freshness Beauty and Convenience. What more could you ask for?

www.dutchmantreefarms.com

The American Christmas Tree Association, As Fake as Their Christmas Trees

Today I read the following article on the American Christmas Tree Association's (ACTA) web-site: Carbon Footprint Study Finds Artificial Christmas Trees Best for the Environment.

My curiosity got the better of me and I searched their site hoping to find the results of this study. My efforts were in vain. The only information I found, other than their interpretation of the supposed results, was that the study was an "in-depth analysis". Now if that doesn't make you wonder, look them up on Wikipedia. You will read the following, "The group claims to have sponsored studies, but hasn't released the actual studies to the public".

Still not convinced? Here is an excerpt from their study:

"The study, sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association and conducted by leading international sustainability firm PE Americas, found that the most significant contribution to global warming came from fossil fuel consumption in transportation of real Christmas trees from tree farms and lots to consumer homes."

What is wrong with this picture? I can see three things:

1. It looks like the root of the problem here is "fossil fuel consumption in transportation", that is driving a car, and has very little to do with Christmas trees.
2. Last time I checked an artificial Christmas tree doesn't just appear in a living room. I think someone has to drive to the local Home Depot or Lowe's and pick it up.
3. If the ACTA went to all the trouble of sponsoring this study why didn't they publish the scientific results?

I am the kind of guy who needs answers and after reading this article it left me with a question. Is there something they aren't telling me? I promptly began to do my own research and this is what I found.

Artificial Christmas trees are made of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). What's the big deal, right? We have pipes in our basements and wires in our walls which contain PVC. Wrong!

1. Early 1970's Dr. John Creech and Dr. Maurice Johnson were the first to clearly link and recognize the cancer causing tendency found in the chemicals used in PVC.
2. Greenpeace has advocated the global discontinuing of PVC because dioxin is produced as a byproduct vinyl chloride manufacturing and from the burning of PVC waste.
3. California is currently considering a bill, sponsored by Californians Against Waste to ban using PVC in packaging because of the threats it poses to the health of humans and the environment.
4. PVC is not normally recycled after use because the recycling process is very costly.
5. In 2005 Dr. Richard Maas, after a study conducted on artificial Christmas trees, is quoted as saying, "We found that if we leave one of these trees standing for a week, and we wipe under the tree we'll find large amounts of lead dust..."
6. A 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report found that of the 50 million artificial trees in the US about 20 million were 9 or more years old, the point where dangerous lead levels are reached.
7. California requires that each artificial Christmas tree come with a warning label about the toxins contained in the PVC.

So does this mean a real Christmas tree is better?

I was able to find a study that actually did share it's scientific results. There are three points I want to highlight about this study:

1. Results show that a natural tree will generate 3.1 kg of greenhouse gases whereas the artificial tree will produce 8.1 kg per year.
2. ellipsos chose the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to perform this study. It follows the recognized ISO 14040 and 14044 standards and it was reviewed by an independent third-party of peers.
3. Interestingly, to compensate for the impacts of a Christmas tree, be it natural or artificial, one can offset the carbon emissions by carpooling or biking to work only one to three weeks per year.(I wonder how many people at the American Christmas Tree Association are doing their part here...)

One last note. For every Christmas tree cut down on a farm many more are planted. Dutchman Tree Farms planted over 750 thousand trees already this year.

Regarding whether the American Christmas Tree Association is a fake like their trees... I'll let you decide.

References:

• The American Christmas Tree Association's dubious study
• Notes on PVC
• Californians Against Waste's sponsored bill
• Quick Facts about Lead in Artificial Christmas Trees
• Summary of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by ellipsos
• Scientific Results of LCA (found in the pdf at the bottom of the article)
• Oh Christmas tree, oh green Christmas tree