PNW Christmas Trees Pt 12
I’m Bob Larson. Oregon is the top Christmas tree production state in the nation, so why wouldn’t we want a fresh, REAL tree instead of an artificial tree?
Production of Christmas trees has been down for the past decade, but Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association executive director, Angie Smith says not because people are going with fake trees …
SMITH … “So, to answer your question, that is not something that factors in when our members decide to grow the quantity of trees they decide to grow. It’s really what land is available and what their resources are.”
That aside, Smith says she’s optimistic demand for REAL trees will continue …
SMITH … “What I’m hearing are that the millennials prefer the sustainable resource and are doing the live tree or cut your own tree. They prefer that.”
Smith says there are plenty of reasons people prefer REAL over artificial …
SMITH … “They don’t feel like a real tree. They don’t smell like a real tree. They certainly are not disposable like a real tree. When they’ve passed their prime, you have to throw them in the dump and that is really too bad.”
As far as this news about a tree shortage, Smith says …
SMITH … “I’m concerned that the media’s perpetuation of these “untruths” will drive consumers to the artificial tree industry, and I really hope that they will learn the facts and go buy a real tree.”
The average live evergreen cost $78 last year, up $3 from the roughly $75-per-tree price tag in 2016 and 17.
