The festive season is upon us as we begin eyeing up our advent calendars, writing up our wish lists and hanging up our stockings.
One of the best parts of Christmas is the aroma of woody pine that pervades through the home courtesy of our Christmas trees.
However, with environmental awareness and deforestation in the global consciousness more than ever before, it is crucial that even this most comforting of traditions is given deeper consideration.
Companies such as Green Elf Trees, Pines and Needles and Christmas Forest are just some of the brands paving the way to an eco-friendlier Christmas. They all sell real trees, which have a “significantly lower” carbon footprint than reusable plastic trees, according to the Carbon Trust, and they all are doing their bit for the environment and community.
From just £3 per week
Green Elf Trees, based in London, contributes £3 to charity for every tree purchased, supporting organisations such as Mind, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Crisis, Dogs Trust and Age UK. The company says it has “raised over £20,000″ for the various charities so far.

On top of that, Green Elf‘s delivery team — or rather, Christmas elves — are out-of-work musicians and entertainers whose professions were hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the BBC, the music industry is one of the last sectors to recover from the pandemic, with 83 per cent of musicians still struggling to find regular work.