Did you know it can take up to 15 years for a Christmas tree to reach maturity, only for it to be cut down for the holiday season? Walking through the streets of London during a cold January, Catherine Loveless and Jonathan Mearns saw the number of discarded trees that littered the pavements. Each year, seven million Christmas trees are thrown out to rot and emit greenhouse gases. Loveless and Mearns realised there was a relatively simple way to combat this. In 2018 the pair launched London Christmas Tree Rental.
“Christmas time is filled with joy, cheer and unfortunately lots of waste,” Mearns says. “Surely, in this day and age we could do Christmas trees a bit better.” Throughout the year, London Christmas Tree Rental grows living trees in pots so that customers can rent one out for the festive season. While it’s in their care, all they have to do is water the tree before returning it at the end of the holidays. “Planting trees to cut them down seems to be contrary to efforts to plant more trees to rescue global warming,” Loveless says. Preventing this unnecessary destruction, these trees are instead absorbing carbon dioxide and assisting in the fight against climate change.
By allowing people to use the same tree year after year, Loveless and Mearns are providing them with the opportunity to celebrate traditions in an eco-friendly way. With over 1 000 trees available to rent, families can gather around a tree that becomes part of their festivities without damaging the environment. “We are here as tenants of this planet, so let’s look after it,” Mearns says.
Footage by London Christmas Tree Rental was used in the creation of this film.
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