INDIANAPOLIS — With the holiday season underway, Hoosiers are once again deciding between a fresh-cut or artificial Christmas tree.
While both options fill living rooms, sustainability experts say one of them is far better for the environment — and it’s not the one many people expect.
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At Sullivan Hardware and Garden, Christmas tree sales are already brisk.
“We have a large seasonal business which includes fresh-cut Christmas trees and artificial trees,” said Pat Sullivan, President of the hardware and garden store.
Millions of families buy a tree each year, but the environmental impact varies widely depending on whether they choose real or fake.
“When looking at options, it sometimes seems like the more sustainable option is to get a fake tree that you can use for multiple years, but the real tree is actually the way to go,” said Lizzie Hortviz, a sustainability expert and founder of Finch, a platform that educates consumers on sustainability.
Horvitz tells WRTV the carbon footprint of artificial trees is far heavier than most people realize.
“Real Christmas trees typically carry an average carbon footprint of 3.5 kg of CO2, if disposed of through burning or wood chipping,” she said. “A two m artificial Christmas tree has a carbon footprint of around 40 kg, more than 10 times that of a real tree… then, unfortunately, at the end of life, the only thing we can do is landfill them.”
At Sullivan, both types of trees are popular, but this year, the store says fresh trees are stocked up again on their store shelves.
“There's been a shortage of trees and fresh-cut for the last five years, and it's kind of coming to an end,” Sullivan said. “We're paying big dollars just to try to get trees, so the prices of fresh cut around town should either be stable or drop.”
The National Christmas Tree Association and the American Christmas Tree Association estimate the average fresh tree cost in 2024 was between $80 and $100. Artificial trees ranged from $85 to more than $1,000.
Beyond price, Horvitz says real trees offer environmental benefits long before they end up in someone’s home.
“Christmas trees are also doing all that good tree stuff. They're absorbing carbon, they're providing wildlife habitat, etc.,” she said.
"The most important thing is that we support these Christmas tree farms, because for every tree purchased, farmers plant one to three seedlings in its place. So, this guarantees the future of green space and farmland,” she added.
For those who prefer artificial trees, Horvitz says the key to sustainability is longevity.
“If you have a fake tree and if you're really set on getting one, you should have it for a minimum of 10 years to get the best payoff,” she said.
Experts even recommend using an artificial tree during the off-season to maximize its value. And when it’s time to toss a real tree, local pickup sites and drop-off options are widely available, often with help from farms or stores.
