Instead of selling Christmas trees for people to throw away at the end of the year, The Living Christmas Company in California rents them out and then re-plants them at the end of the season.

Founder Scott Martin started the business in 2008, to give people an environmentally conscious way of celebrating the holiday season.

Martin’s tree farm was once an oil refinery, but now it is home to thousands of trees, which are planted, rented and then re-planted again every year. The Living Christmas Company even allows families to tag their trees so they can return each year and pick the same exact one.

Martin says that this way of celebrating the holidays not only saves trees, but it also teaches people how to take care of them.

“By and large if you go out of your way to rent a living tree, you’re going to be more conscientious,” Martin said.

As consumers have become more environmentally conscious over the years, they have looked for creative alternatives like this, that allow them to carry on their traditions without leaving a negative impact on the environment.

It will be interesting to see how the market changes in the coming years to suit a demand for environmentally friendly products and services.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ8cxHXT18I]

John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.