Artificial Christmas trees taking root in US

People in the United States are hoisting more artificial Christmas trees as they weigh the cost of the real ones.

Doug Hundley, a spokesman for the US National Christmas Tree Association in Littleton, Colorado, said US consumer habits have changed dramatically over the past 50 years, as more families and older people are opting for synthetic trees.

“At least 75 percent of Americans now own a plastic tree, mainly due to convenience, and many will keep those trees for three to five years,” Hundley said.

In 2016-17, 7.4 million people bought a real tree for $74 to $75, according to the association’s survey of 2,000 people.

In 2016, 18.6 million people bought an artificial tree for an average $98.7. That figure went up to 21.1 million in 2017 — and the price rose to around $107.

But that premium comes with a longer shelf life.

The holiday season also has left some US Christmas tree-sellers less cheerful.

Scott Lechner, manager of SoHo trees in New York, had to pay $40,000 for a permit from the Department of Parks and Recreation in New York to sell his real trees.

He forked over the tens of thousands to sell real firs in Washington Market Park in Manhattan’s Tribeca, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Christmas tree-seller now charges $150 and up for a 2 meter-tall tree, such as a Canadian fir or Fraser fir.

US sellers also have been facing a shortage of real trees this year.

“The ones on the market today were planted between 2007 and 2009,” Hundley said. “At that time, in 2007, we were in the midst of a recession, and they planted too few trees.

“Americans now like to buy plastic trees for convenience,” Hundley said. “As people age, they want to take things easier.”

At least 90 percent of the Christmas tree ornaments and lights imported into the US this year will come from China, according to US Census Bureau data.

Many of the baubles will originate in Yiwu city, in East China’s Zhejiang province, a place that has earned the nickname “Santa’s workshop” because 600 factories there produce two-thirds of the world’s Christmas products each year, worth billions of dollars.

While sales of the festive lights sold by Chinese companies have boomed in recent years — $3 billion worth from 2016 to 2017 — the US tariffs against China could put a dent in that figure.

Among the products on US President Donald Trump’s $200 billion tariff list on Chinese imports are Christmas tree lights.

This year, Chinese suppliers shipped their trees and ornaments to the US in the summer, before the tariffs took hold on Sept 24.

China sent 414,912 tons of yuletide products to buyers worldwide during the first nine months of 2018.