No, not the color green as you might be thinking!

A handful of growers in the top Christmas tree producing state of Oregon have created a system in which consumers can identify which trees are grown under certain environment standards that help the environment.  Most people in the United States typically look for tree variations of size and shape.

Growers participating under this new system must adhere to certain standards for the environment and worker safety.   A farm must be inspected to check for standards in soil and water conservation measures, as well as check for standards in the nutrients, pest control and managing wetlands.

“Consumers like to do the right thing,” said Joe Sharp, managing partner of Yule Tree Farms and co-founder of the Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers.  “We are just helping with education.”
 
These trees are not organically grown, but the measures put forth are helping reduce the environmental dangers of Christmas tree farming.  Dangers that are minimized are erosion and the use of excessive pesticides.

Only some trees grown with these new standards will be seen in the market this year.  There will be more than 200,000 special tags hanging on certain trees.  These tags will indicate that the trees are grown according to the coalition’s standards.  Consumers who buy these trees will know that it is grown with the best intentions for the environment.

There are currently many other tree growers on a waiting list preparing for inspection.  They hope to join the three large tree growers that are part of this environmental friendly group.  The coalition is hoping to take the tag system nationwide in the near future and servicing the nearly 29 million households who bought a fresh Christmas tree in 2006.