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Amazon adds real Christmas trees

This holiday season Amazon is selling real Christmas trees for the first time which the National Christmas Tree Association says will attract new customers.

“What we see is it’s additive.  What we think Amazon will do is bring new customers to us, customers who haven’t found that getting a real tree is convenient for them.”

Executive director Tim O’Connor tells Brownfield young adult consumers are driving a growing interest in real Christmas trees, “And the idea that a real tree, that’s grown on a farm and cared for in a farming community, is a much better choice for the environment than a tree that’s made from PVC plastic in a factory in China and is not biodegradable at the end of its life.”

Amazon is sourcing most trees from U.S. growers in Michigan and North Carolina which sell for about $100.  The National Christmas Tree Association found trees last year averaged $75 in their annual survey.

O’Connor says consumers can also visit their website, realchristmastrees.org, to locate the nearest Christmas tree grower and source straight from the farm.  He recommends giving trees a fresh cut on the bottom before putting them up and keeping it watered to help it last through the holidays.

Oregon, North Carolina and Michigan are the top three states for Christmas tree production.

AUDIO: Brownfield interview with Tim O’Connor