Every year a new Christmas tree comes into the house. It's not sustainable. If you want to do something good for the environment and still not want to do without tradition, choose one of the following alternatives.
Around 29 million Christmas trees stand in German living rooms every year. Most of these come from monocultures, are wrapped in pesticides or imported from abroad - which leads to a pretty bad environmental balance. But there are more and more sustainable alternatives so that tradition does not have to be abandoned.
Certified organic Christmas tree
The word "organic" is on everyone's lips, even when it comes to Christmas trees. Because nobody wants to put a chemical spinner in the house for the holidays. They can be recognized by the seals of organic farming associations such as EU-Bio, Biokreis, Bioland, Demeter or Naturland. Artificial fertilizers and pesticides are taboo here and the trees therefore make a small contribution to species protection.
Christmas tree from the region
The most popular Christmas tree among Germans is the Nordmann fir. The problem: Originally, it does not grow at all in this country, but often has a long transport route from Denmark, Hungary or Poland behind it. The better alternative is to use regional conifers such as spruce, pine or fir. Or to make sure that the Nordmann fir was grown regionally. Regional forest companies often grow them on special areas. The short transport route has a positive effect on the ecological footprint, and the Christmas tree can go into the living room without a guilty conscience.
Fair trade Christmas tree
Around 90 percent of the seeds for Nordmann firs come from Georgia, where the cone pickers often work under unfair conditions. The Danish company "Fair Trees" wants to change this: It pays the workers a fair wage and ensures safety at work. The trees with the "Fair Trees" seal are available in various German hardware stores.
Borrow a Christmas tree in a pot
Renting Christmas trees is becoming increasingly popular. Some nurseries, foresters and garden centers offer the alternative of renting the tree instead of buying it. This is how it works: The Christmas tree is slowly acclimated to warmer indoor temperatures, placed in the pot in the living room and watered regularly. After he has "done his job", he comes back to the landlord, is planted again and allowed to continue growing.
Pay attention to natural Christmas decorations
Once you have decided on a tree, it is important to take care of it. This includes, for example, decoration made from materials that are as natural as possible. Glitter particles should not end up on the tree, as they are then no longer completely compostable. Instead, you should use decorations made of wood, fabric ribbons, paper, straw or edible items such as cookies or gingerbread. To care for the Christmas tree, you can regularly spray its needles with water - this way it stays fresh longer.
DIY Christmas Tree
If the care is too tedious for you, you can make an artificial DIY (do-it-yourself) Christmas tree from environmentally friendly materials. Here are a few ideas:
With the help of eight to ten thick branches, a Christmas tree can be conjured up on the wall in no time at all. Saw the branches to different lengths, arrange them from long (bottom) to short (top) and connect them with a cord on the sides. Gather the cord to a point at the top, tie a knot and fasten to the wall with a nail. Finally, attach the tree decorations with string or wire and the DIY Christmas tree à la IKK Classic is done.
Experienced do-it-yourselfers collect more branches, which they also arrange from long to short and make a hole in the middle of each one. Then pierce the pierced branches crossed on a wooden stick. Put the whole thing on a pedestal (e.g. made of a tree trunk) and decorate as you like. The process of creation is documented step by step on the Instagram channel @sonnenlichtdurchflutet.
Those who don't want to do handicrafts have the option of having a log and fresh branches delivered to their homes via suppliers such as "Keinachtsbaum". The assembled result looks deceptively real, but is significantly more sustainable than a conventional Christmas tree. Because instead of a complete tree, you only get the green of the fir tree in the coming winter. If the effort is too great for you, you can convert a wooden ladder into a Christmas tree and decorate it festively. The Instagram account @Munikleev shows how it's done.
