sustainability

Tree hugging vs. tree cutting

And now a word or two about cutting live trees. Trees are a renewable resource. For every tree Mr. Greentrees cuts, two saplings are planted in the same location. And if trees weren’t growing there, strawberries or onions would be. We harvest from farms, not forests.

We hardly need to defend trees. They provide habitat for migratory creatures, give off oxygen and touch our souls. But to save a tree by buying artificial is to miss the point. These are imported petrochemical products that befoul our landfills and seep into our groundwater. While live trees are recycled as ground cover and garden mulch.

Balled living trees may represent the best of intentions, but few survive our Southern California climate. The proper geographical and environmental location is critical, and if they’re not planted in time they die.

Mr. Greentrees asks you to buy responsibly. Buy live. Go carbon neutral. And take comfort in the fact that we donate a portion of each year’s profits to environmental charities.

Some charities we love are—treepeople.org, ran.org, nrdc.org, oceana.org