This Xmas, think plastic trees and homemade presents

When Sylvia Meier looks out of the window, she sees a beautiful fir tree standing two meters high. Red baubles and fairy lights hang from the branches.

"That's my Christmas tree," she says, "and has been for many years."

She bought it as a small tree in a pot for the holiday season and then planted it in the garden after Christmas.

'The most sustainable tree is not a tree'

From the point of view of many Germans, Sylvia has done everything right. After all, she says, around 30 million trees are cut down every Christmas just to put them in German living rooms. However, not everyone has a garden like the Meier family. And even if they do, many trees don't survive outside at all because they've been in the warm house for too long. So what's the solution?

"To put it bluntly, the most sustainable tree is not a tree," Corinna Hölzel from the environmental organization Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) told the media outlet Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. "Or a tree that would be cut down anyway during forestry measures — that is, a waste product." However, since this would not cover the quantity requirements of all households, alternatives are in demand, because "we do not want to ban the tradition of Christmas trees, of course," the environmental expert added.

The tree simply belongs

Contrary to what many think, however, a reusable plastic tree is definitely not an alternative. Because although it does its duty for decades on Christmas Eve, it eventually ends up in the trash. And unlike the real tree, it is not biodegradable.

On the other hand, about 80% of the fir trees planted for Christmas in Germany come from monoculture — the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time — with fertilizers and pesticides included. If you want to celebrate in an environmentally friendly way, you should at least buy a tree from regional ecological cultivation, BUND advises.

And many people are now doing just that, because, according to a survey by the broadcaster ARD, only 24% of Germans want to do without a tree altogether; it's simply part of the festivities. In 2022, however, festive lighting in the home and garden will be cut back considerably due to the energy crisis. This is good news for the environment, because as long as electricity is generated from fossil fuels, CO2 emissions will rise.

The fight against mountains of waste

And what about the wrapping paper? Year after year, the trash cans in Germany overflow.

According to estimates by the stationery and book publisher Dabelino, about 8,000 tons of wrapping paper end up in the trash every year in Germany alone. But here, too, there are signs of a trend reversal. According to the study, 50% of respondents want to reduce wrapping paper for the sake of the environment.

In many families old paper is reused. And around 20% of Germans no longer want to support the consumerist frenzy, but only want to put homemade items on the gift table.

Consuming more consciously

This also applies to food, which is increasingly being consumed more consciously than in earlier times. Some 39% of Germans say they want to eat regional foods at Christmas. So gone are the days of unrestrained feasting orgies; more and more people are eating healthily, many vegetarian or vegan, often for the sake of the environment.

After all, 70% of all Germans are now in favor of a more environmentally friendly Christmas. So something is happening under the Christmas tree.

"However, it does little good to think about sustainability only at Christmas," the environmental psychologist Karen Hamann told ARD. "We should try to reduce our climate-damaging behavior throughout the year from areas such as air travel, mobility, energy and nutrition," she said. "On the other hand, we shouldn't condemn ourselves over every little thing either."

Silvia Meier agrees. And that's why she has already picked out her grandma's recipe for the traditional roast goose, as she does every year. "Maybe not entirely climate-friendly," she says, "but my family is already looking forward to it." Except her daughter Antonia, who gets to enjoy vegan tofu.

 This article was originally written in German.