December 14, 2009 - The Living Christmas Company: Celebrate a Living Christmas!

Each year between 35-40 million real Christmas trees are cut down and sold throughout the United States. Though many of these trees are grown on tree farms where they are replanted each season, a Scotch pine or Douglas fir can take over ten years to reach maturity.

After battling heavy rain, wind, hail, and drought only 750-1500 of every 2000 survive.[1] Since trees began to sell commercially in the 1850s they have become a guilty pleasure of so many families who welcome that evergreen aroma into their homes each holiday season. Thanks to the people at The Living Christmas Co. you can forget the guilt and welcome the pleasure of having a beautiful live potted tree delivered to your doorstep.  Instead of tossing a dried up tree to the curb the Living Christmas Co. will collect each tree, housing them in a nursery until they can be enjoyed again the next year.

Scotty Claus, founder of The Living Christmas Co. had dreamt of an alternative to commercially cut trees since the age of seventeen when he worked in a nursery. "I loved to see the joy in people's faces when the trees arrived. Everyone was excited to see me.  The delivery of the tree signalled the arrival of Christmas in the home.  Laughing, singing Christmas carols, and sharing eggnog with customers was all part of the magic and joy." Contrasting that joy, however, was the harsh fate of the trees once their initial magic had faded and their needles had browned. "How could something that came to signify such joy, be discarded so easily?" Having worked in a nursery, Scotty Claus wondered if a population of living trees could be cultivated that would survive the holiday season in someone's home. "Four years ago, I started giving clients trees for the holidays to keep them in their home.  I was able to come up with a group of trees that did well and last year we offered the service to the public."

The benefits of a living tree are not just for the environment. Dead Christmas trees account for more than 200 fires annually and more than $6 million in property damage. [2]  "The Living Christmas Company is enthusiastically endorsed by Santa Monica Fire Marshall Jim Glew. You'd be amazed how having a living tree changes the atmosphere of the room in a way that a cut tree and certainly a fake tree cannot.  Caring for the tree is an invest in its health, rather than just prolonging its death.  You can name and sing to your living tree with the hope that it will go on living for generations to

come."

Combined with his general love of the holiday season, Scotty Claus had a vision for the environment and hoped his trees would offer an alternative to irrevocable damage caused by the cut tree industry. "Our mobile forest of pine trees are still working in the off-season, cleaning the air, reducing storm water run-off, and beautifying under-used urban areas, such as brown fields, where they are needed the most.  Because the trees are grown locally and delivered on Bio-Diesel fuelled trucks 20-30 at a time, they have tiny footprint when compared to their other pine counterparts.  After their use, our Christmas trees will be ‘repurposed' and planted though an urban reforestation process. While fake trees are often seen as the "eco-friendly" option, many people don't realize that fake trees actually contain petroleum-based materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), emitting toxic chemicals like lead dust. In fact, the 85 percent that do come from China are required by California Proposition 65 to have a warning label. The embodied energy in an artificial tree is immense - creating PVC or even polyurethane is a messy, energy intensive process. You might be ‘saving' a tree for six to seven years, but you are burdening the planet with a tree that won't decompose for millennia."

Since offering the service, The Living Christmas Company has seen an overwhelming response from Californians who particularly enjoy their drop off and pick up promise, removing the hassle of dragging a cut tree into a condo or apartment. "Our service has offered them the opportunity to celebrate Christmas again in way that everyone can feel good about."

If you would like to know more about renting a living Christmas tree visit www.livingchristmas.com. Select the type and size you want, chose a delivery date and you'll be on your way to enjoying a living Christmas.

Jennifer Maclellan is the Senior Writer for the Green Guide Network. You can contact her at jennifer@greenguidenetwork.com.

[1] University of Illinois Extension, Christmas Tree's and More, < http://urbanext.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm>,2009.

[2] U.S. Fire Administration, Christmas Tree Fire Hazard.