Christmas tree brand Pines and Needles’s e-commerce director Veronika Kusak has shared her top tips on how to make your festive season more sustainable.

While an artificial Christmas tree that can be pulled down from the loft year after year might seem like a more sustainable option, it’s actually better for the environment to opt for a real one.

Because plastic is made with oil, fake trees have a huge carbon footprint and because they’re a mix of metals and plastic they can’t be recycled - it just has to go to landfill where it will never degrade.

Real trees on other hand take up to 10 years to fully mature, meaning that as they grow they’re not only absorbing carbon, but they’re releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Plus, for every real tree that is harvested, more are planted in its place. That means that most British Christmas tree suppliers like Pines and Needles are carbon positive for most of the year and carbon neutral over the festive period as any carbon released during deliveries is offset.

Better yet, you’ll be saving precious space in your attic as all you’ll have to store is a reusable stand!

While it can be tempting to follow this year’s biggest decorating trends with a whole new look for your tree, reusing your decorations is one of the best ways to be more sustainable over the festive period. Even those ones the kids proudly made at school!

Not only does it create an air of nostalgia and tradition using the same decorations year on year but, it also helps to reduce your carbon footprint by not buying mass produced decorations made from materials that can take many hundreds of years to biodegrade.

If you do want to refresh your tree, the other option is look at sustainably produced decorations made of materials like wood or paper.

Nothing says Christmas like some festive foliage and as well as giving your home that classic Christmas look and smell, going out in search of some Christmas greenery can be a nice family activity in the run up to the big day.

Whether it’s gathering wild holly to add to a homemade wreath or collecting foliage to add some flair to your Christmas table centrepiece, foraging isn’t just better for the planet but better for your bank balance too.

Another sustainable and unique way to decorate is to make your own! Whether it’s making your own pom pom garlands from left over wool, grabbing some scissors and making your own paper snowflakes or even getting crafty with old wool dryer balls and homemade dye, a spot of Christmas crafting is a great way to get the kids involved.

Not only that, but creating your own one-of-a-kind decorations will give your home a truly personalised look that you definitely won’t find on the shelves of your local department store!

The beauty of real trees is that unlike their artificial counterparts, they can be recycled. A lot of tree suppliers offer their own recycling services where they’ll collect your tree ready to be processed to be made into things like biofuel or even chipped up to be used as animal bedding.

Alternatively, if this isn’t something your supplier offers, some areas do have their own charitable schemes where trees will be collected from your home for a small charitable donation.

For more tips or further information on Pines and Needles, visit www.pinesandneedles.com