There are approximately 30-35 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year.
An estimated 175,000 Real Christmas Trees are sold via e-commerce or catalogue and shipped mail-order.
North American Real Christmas Trees are grown in
all 50 states and Canada. Eighty-five percent (85%) of artificial trees
sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China.
Real Trees are a renewable, recyclable
resource. Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and
possible metal toxins such as lead.
Consumers can locate the nearest recycling program by logging onto www.realchristmastrees.org or calling 1-800-CLEANUP.
For every Real Christmas Tree harvested, up to 3 seedlings are planted in its place the following spring.
There are about 500,000 acres in production for
growing Christmas Trees in the U.S. Each acre provides the daily oxygen
requirements of 18 people.
There are about 21,000 Christmas Tree growers in the U.S., and over 100,000 people employed full or part-time in the industry.
It can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree
of average retail sale height (6 - 7 feet) or as little as 4 years, but
the average growing time is 7 years.
The top Christmas Tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington. (See a complete list of all 50 states ranked by several variables.)
The top selling Christmas Trees are: balsam fir, Douglas-fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine.
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service,
National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) and your local Christmas
Tree professional.
