With Arbor day now come and gone, we’ve been reflecting on trees. Social Greenery will always be about celebrating sustainably, and eco-friendly Christmas trees are a core part of how we do that. Family values are the roots are business grows from, but sustainability is the trunk that stretches us higher.

So, what is the actual impact of trees on our environment?

It all comes down to the sequestering of carbon dioxide. The exact amount of carbon stored by a tree depends on the variety of tree, maturity, size and location. For example, mature trees capture about 88 lbs of carbon per year, while very young trees (think seedlings) will sequester only about 400 lbs of carbon from the time they’re seeds to the time they’re about 20 years old (From The Architect’s Newspaper and The Sierra Club, respectfully).

You might be thinking that carbon sinks are a short term answer to a forever problem, and you’re not wrong. However, a pine tree that dies in the forest will take as long as 500 years to fully decompose and release that sequestered carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Conversely: a Christmas tree that’s been chopped down and discarded to the landfill a month later will decompose much quicker, resulting in the rapid release of that stored CO2. Given the immediate crisis we’re in environmentally, that 500 years doesn’t seem too shabby.

But back to Social and our flagship service: living, potted Christmas trees. When a Christmas tree is chopped down, it’s no longer able to cleanse carbon dioxide from the air. When it’s eventually thrown away, it will begin the process of releasing that carbon dioxide that it had previously captured. Given that evergreen trees are pretty immature when they’re at the sizes they need to be to fit into homes, this process represents a huge loss in future environmental good (remember that mature trees can capture up as much as 88 lbs of CO2 per year). So, what if your living room holiday tree was still alive?

What if your tree was planted in a pot, delivered to your home at Christmas and then picked up afterward and immediately donated to a local nonprofit who planted it in the ground? What if every single year your Christmas tree tradition represented the opportunity to plant a tree? What if we let our trees do the job they’re meant to do on this earth instead of killing them at the beginning of their ability to help us? Social Greenery’s living, potted Christmas trees are the solution. We’re here to help you have a green Christmas.