Want to responsibly handle your Christmas tree purchase and disposal this year? A growing number of people do, so there are options if you’re willing to spend a little extra effort, time and maybe money.

Green America reports that you can buy a cut tree from a family farm that plants “about two trees for every one cut” and grows trees on rocky soil where other crops don’t thrive. “This means that instead of barren land, the farm hosts trees that provide oxygen and combat global warming.” But, you also want an organically grown tree to avoid bringing home harmful toxins or supporting the practice of allowing pesticides and herbicides to contaminate soil and groundwater.

How to find a responsible, organic tree vendor in New Jersey

• Check out this Christmas Tree Farms Map for northwest NJ
  
• Local Harvest helps you search for a responsible vendor near you, anywhere in the US
• You can also check with a local environmental center to learn if they can recommend a responsible vendor or call one of these Christmas tree farms
• Search on Farmer’s Pal, another farm search tool

Maybe you want to replant your tree!

For this laudable goal, take a trip to the Philly area and buy a tree that can be replanted – in your backyard; by donating it back to Tiny Terra Ferma or to a local environmental center like the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education or the Upper Roxborough Reservoir … or replant it in a service event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on 20 Jan 2014.

Good luck with your responsible Christmas tree hunt and a very Happy Christmas to you! Let us know what your search turns up.