Michigan

An artificial tree offers superior value, particularly from an economic perspective. Consider my experience: I've been using the same tree for about eight years, which I purchased at about $100 during an after-Christmas sale. In contrast, a real tree might cost around $30 to $40 and is only usable for a single season before disposal.

The pressure to choose a real tree seems to advocate for a less capitalistic approach, effectively encouraging higher expenditure for a product with significantly less utility. Another guilt trip asking for me to change my “evil” ways, rather than for the system to change. Instead, we should be promoting incentives for utilizing efficient manufacturing processes, such as those found in Chinese production, which align with both economic sensibility and sustainable usage.

But the bigger problem with artificial trees is that the vast majority of those sold in the U.S. are made in China. The soft plastic needles on those artificial trees often are made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVCs, which contain phthalates. Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that have been associated with reproductive harm, cancer, asthma and neurodevelopmental problems.

This is why we've opted for a live tree for the last few years. Our artificial tree started giving us a weird feeling on our hands, like a greasy slimy feeling that you can't see, but know is on your skin.

I just like the smell of a real tree. Lol

Print out a picture of a tree and tape it to the wall