Green Christmas Trees

Now here's a business idea out of Southern California that just warms the very cockles of our hearts. If you're anything like us, the thought of hacking down a perfectly healthy tree only to watch it slowly die in your living room doesn't exactly invoke the spirit of Christmas. And a fake tree is just gross (sorry, but it is) and besides, it lacks that oh-so-comforting pine needle scent.

So what's an evergreen-loving person to do?

Enter the Living Christmas Tree Company in Redondo Beach, Calif. Founded last year by Scott Martin, the company will deliver a potted tree to your door and pick it up when the holidays are over to lovingly replant it in their nursery until next year.

"Maybe it doesn't look like the Christmas tree you had in the past, but it's a more sustainable way to move forward and it's alive," Martin tells Fox 11 in LA.

Customers rent the tree, choosing from five different types, ranging in size from 2 feet to 8 feet tall. Of course, as in most cases, this eco-friendliness comes at a cost, running anywhere from $50 to $180 — but that does include delivery and pickup. (Oh, and the trees need to be watered, too, adding a little extra responsibility.) This year, however, Living Christmas Tree is partnering with Goodwill, so they will pick up any clothing and other donations along with your tree.

Just about everything this business does is done with the environment in mind. The trees are grown locally in brownfields (abandoned industrial land), using reclaimed water and organic fertilizer and delivered via bio-diesel truck 20 to 30 at a time, keeping the carbon footprint to a minimum. Then, when the trees grow too big (over 8 feet tall), they're re-purposed and planted through an urban reforestation process. The company keeps people in mind, too, offering volunteer opportunities and internships at the nursery for the elderly and handicapped.

As if that weren't enough, the company has now expanded into other areas, offering up eco-friendly LED lights and ornaments to decorate your eco-friendly tree.

And business, says Martin, is booming. Last year they had just 120 trees; this year, their crop has swelled to 7,500. Their Web site, where customers can order trees directly, averaged nearly 1,000 unique visits a day the first week of December with over 80 percent of them first-timers, Martin tells DigitalCity.com.

Dare we say, we hope this idea catches on like wildfire across the rest of the country?

Photo courtesy of Living Christmas Tree Company.