Martha Stewart makes Inaccurate & Irresponsible Statement about her Artificial Trees Saving the Forest

On Monday I was watching the Martha Stewart Show.  It was that time of year when she was introducing her Christmas decorating collection that she sells at Home Depot.  As she was talking about her artificial trees and wreaths she made the statement that they "protect the forest."  I was so appalled at the inaccuracy and irresponsibility of that statement I almost choked on my food.  I immediately tweeted her.  I've also emailed her.

Artificial trees and wreaths IN NO WAY protect the forest.  In fact, they are quite ecologically irresponsible and release chemicals with known health concerns.  I was planning to write about live Christmas trees vs. artificial ones in a few weeks, but I think it's time, considering millions of people heard that statement.

First of all, most Christmas trees do not come from the forest.  They come from tree farms in the US and Canada.  Christmas tree farms are actually much better for the environment than farms that produce food because the trees take several years to grow before they are harvested rather than the fields being turned over every year.  They also use much less pesticides and provide habitat for birds and other creatures.  While they are growing they help clean the air.  Real trees from tree farms are what protect the forest by giving people alternatives to cutting down the forests.  They can also be recycled or composted when the holiday is over.  The biggest ecological issue with live trees is the transportation.  They are often transported thousands of miles from the farms to their final destination.  You can eliminate this issue by buying from a local tree farm.

Artificial trees and wreaths on the other hand are extremely destructive not only to the environment, but also to our health.  They are made from plastic - do I really need to go into all the reasons this is bad (if the answer is yes, please say so in the comments and I'll go into that in another post)?  Often that plastic contains hormone disrupting phthalates which off gas in your home putting the health of you, your children and your pets at risk.  

They also often contain lead.  This is often released as lead dust in your home and it spreads throughout the home and is very difficult to get rid of.  Lead is a neurotoxin and there is no safe level of lead exposure.  Young children are particularly susceptible to lead.  And, as the trees get older and break down they off gas and release lead at greater rates.  Especially if they are exposed to sunlight.

Finally, it's very difficult to recycle artificial Christmas trees.  You can't just send them to the recycling company for disposal.  They would have to be broken down into all their individual parts.  And, since there is no real way for the consumer or the recycling center to know for sure what is in the plastic tree as well as any other plastic parts, they usually can't recycle it anyway.  Yes, you can sell it or donate it when you are done with it, but that is only delaying the disposal problem, not getting rid of it. 

Even though I enjoy Martha Stewart, her show and her magazine, I don't always agree with everything she says or does (who does?) but this statement was so increadibly irresponsible I just had to address it.  In fact, it's so bad, I think she needs to retract the statement publicly on her show.  I doubt she will, as she profits from selling artificial trees and wreaths, but I think it's important just the same to let her know how inaccurate and irresponsible this statement was.  Millions of people watch and she often talks about needing to protect the environment on her show.  She influences millions of people who are now going to think they are doing the right thing for the environment by buying her plastic trees and wreaths.  

If you'd like to write to Martha Stewart about this issue you can email her at emailmartha@marthastewart.com, television@marthastewart.com and customersupport@marthastewart.com.  You can also use the comment form on her webpage.

You can tweet her at @MarthaStewart, @TheMarthaShow, and @MarthaCares ( MSLO Customer Relations, although it looks like they rarely tweet).  Also tweet Kevin Sharkey, her decorating editor who agreed with her statement on air when she said it 

You can also comment on the page about that episode here and write a review of the products on the Home Depot Website.

Photo Credit: MarthaStewart.com.