The War of the Christmas Trees
Dec. 21, 2006 — -- Growing up in eco-friendly Maine, Daniel Houghton each year trekked through acres of conifers with his family to saw down the perfect Christmas tree for its solar-heated, earth-sheltered home. The 20-foot tree adorned a tall atrium that soared from below ground up past south-facing windows.
Houghton, now a 24-year-old assistant in the film and media culture department at Middlebury College in Vermont -- and other young professionals like him -- make perfect targets for the National Christmas Tree Association's fierce marketing campaign to boost the once-flagging sales of real trees.
"Our research shows Generation Y is going back to tradition," says NCTA spokesman Becky Rasmussen. "They are interested in family and support environmental causes. These people want fresh trees."
It's come down to a war between the real Christmas trees and the fakes, and the winner depends on who's doing the math.
The National Christmas Tree Association's Web site claims that real tree sales outnumber sales for artificial trees 32.8 million to 9.3 million. But artificial trees are used year after year, and studies commissioned by the artificial tree industry show that 57 percent of all Americans actually own fake trees.
Further, the NCTA claims that plastic trees are made in Chinese sweatshops, harbor cancer-causing and poisonous chemicals, and can go up in flames at the strike of a match.
Real trees, it says, are renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Nurseries proudly tell customers that one evergreen tree produces enough daily oxygen for 18 people.
Retailers like Redwood, Calif.-based Balsam Hill, which provides high-end fake trees that mimic natural varieties, claim their products are flame-retardant, long-lasting and allergy-free "with no messy needles and cleanup," says Thomas Harman, Balsam Hill's founder and CEO.
"Our trees do not contain lead. The lights contain lead," says Harman, "and if you are buying a real tree, your child gets the same amount. Lights and stands for real trees are also made in China, and real trees are also flammable."
