Why US Christmas Trees Are Insanely Overpriced?!

In the USA the Christmas Tree Market is a $2 billion industry. The logistics of planting trees in people’s homes ready for December 25th are insane and farmers are battling a huge issue that’s causing prices to skyrocket 📈🎄
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Faultline is produced by:
Executive Producer/Story Editor/Host: Andy Burgess
Story/Research: Aparna Ganesan
Editors: Vivek Manoharan & Andy Burgess
Motion Graphics: Andy Burgess
Artwork: Tim Burgess of Wild Tales Illustration
Additional Footage from Storyblocks & Archive.org
Archive Maps from David Rumsey
Music from Musicbed // fm.pxf.io/c/2423499/1347628/1...
Sources 🔗
The National Christmas Tree Association | Industry Statistics - bit.ly/3vaBVLO
Find a Grave | William V McGalliard - bit.ly/3HYZ1wR
Modern Farmer | Here’s Why Your Christmas Tree Comes From a Farm - bit.ly/3WeEzfJ
The New York Times | A Christmas Tale - nyti.ms/3FLPA0P
NBC News | Here's where Christmas trees in the U.S. grow - nbcnews.to/3Wipn0V
The Washington Post | Where Christmas trees come from - wapo.st/3WCjM5g
UBIQUE | Where does your Christmas Tree come from? - bit.ly/3WDYx3h
The New York Times | A gnarly brown Christmas? Tree farms dry out in the Pacific Northwest. - nyti.ms/3v6ShVI
The New York Times & Reuters | ‘Burnt Down to Nothing’: Heatwave Dries Out Christmas Trees - nyti.ms/3GceCb4
Canadian Government, Trade Commissioner Service | Canadian Christmas tree exports brighten the holiday season - bit.ly/3BOkfJR
CBC | Welcome to the new tradition of Christmas tree shortages - bit.ly/3VvWz45
ACTA | American Christmas Tree Association Predicts Strong Consumer Demand - bit.ly/3WBEuCp
Time Stamps:
0:00 - The Christmas tree industry is in crisis
1:08 - The biggest misconception about Christmas Trees
1:33 - Andy visits a Christmas tree farm
1:48 - The history of the Christmas tree industry
2:33 - Where your Christmas tree comes from
3:44 - The huge task of growing the perfect Christmas tree
4:42 - A farmers worst nightmare...
5:40 - Increasing demands & decreasing supplies
6:06 - Are real or fake Christmas trees better for the planet?
6:38 - Is the industry at risk?
7:11 - Coming soon on Faultline
#christmastree #christmastreefarm #geography

[@Faultlinevideos]

Lets us know which which you think is better real or fake Christmas trees? We are genuinely interested to ehar your thoughts. Thanks for an incredible first year on KZbin, we're so excited to kicking off the new year with our first Japan episode on January 12th. So from all of us here at Faultline, happy holidays and we will see you in 2023!

[@TheBurnsChild]

Ok

[@briangrogan2553]

Grew up near a couple tree farms in Virginia. One farm would let you tag what tree you wanted in the summer and come back at a later date and pick it up. You could also specify you wanted it live and they would dig it up with the root ball. My family has 8 still alive and growing around the property. The oldest is from Christmas 1985.

[@Amelia-vk4jt]

100 pounds for a Christmas tree? Didn't even realise there was an issue I just bought a reusable one for a tenner at Tesco

[@135bpmCoffee]

Me sitting here in Berlin, Germany watching the ins and outs of the American Christmas Tree economy... but you're just so cute! lol Happy holidays to you all as well.See you in 2023 :)

[@afr11235]

I remember reading some little piece of trivia when I was young that the US harvested enough pine every year for Christmas trees that it was equivalent to a forest the size of RI. We always had a "real" tree when I was a kid, but as I got older, the price kept rising. Many years ago, I invested in a good quality fake tree. It's substantially more convenient to pay zero dollars every year, and just pull it out of the basement when we're ready to decorate.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

Very relevant to my super expensive tree!

[@gaffalstudios3617]

wow, in Sweden I can litterally pick one up for like 10 dollars..

[@greywolf7577]

Isn't Sweden basically a big conifer forest? I'm surprised you aren't having to carry axes with you all the time to keep the trees from taking over your whole property.

[@gaffalstudios3617]

@@greywolf7577 I mean most lived in areas are just open field where everything is cut down, but most of the country is just a big pine forrest. Tbh on christmas we usually just go outside and chop one down.

[@michelnormandin8068]

Peddling Christmas trees on NYC streets used to be fun. Best run, 1984. 680 wrapped balsam firs loaded in Eastern Townships, sold in 10 days. Profits were threefold. At one point it got ugly.

[@AndyMBurgess]

Thanks for watching this episode guys. Growing up my family switched to a artificial tree, I did miss the smell of a real one but they’ve held on to it for at least 20 years… so it’s done pretty well 🎄

[@Andy_Babb]

I work at a plant nursery and we sold Christmas trees this year… they were nearly double the cost from the year before, but there was also maybe 10% of the locations there used to be

[@davesprivatelounge]

Cant wait for this channel to hit 100k, 1mil and beyond

[@J.D.E]

Just watched your video on the remote town of Quebec & now this one. Subscribed. I’m from the east coast of Canada, living in the small town of mcadam near the Maine border. This is good content, keep it up! Cheers!

[@blakeblundell9001]

This channel has a lot of potential to get big. I’m surprised the sub count isn’t significantly higher given the quality

[@ncubesays]

It's criminal that such great content with high journalist value gets so little views.

[@walli6388]

I am just using a plastic tree. You can use them for decades.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I live in NW Oregon around a whole bunch of Christmas tree farms. I honestly think that the ridiculous market is related to the terribly unbalanced RENT/Property cost's nowadays. So in order for people to even make their money back costs Soo much due to so much overhead. Our cost of living is effecting everything.

[@Chorutowo]

It's weird hearing about stuff like Christmas tree prices. Where I live, Christmas isen't celebrated traditionally, so Christmas pines aren't special. We got our really nice tree at a nursery for like 30$, and that was even expensive. It's just like a regular tree

[@sameedshariq5080]

Excellent piece, I love how wide a scope you guys cover while still tying it all back to geography. Keep 'em coming!!

[@jrharryman32]

A lot of people here in North Carolina throw old trees in lakes etc. so fish can nest around them. The side affect is tangled fishing lines though. I had a Friend that sold trees in Tennessee that they bought in North Carolina, They sold them with roots still attached in a burlap sack so you could plant them after christmas.

[@DDBurnett1]

I'm guessing that that farmer lost his trees in June 2021. It was 47 C/116 F here in Portland, OR, which places it 3rd for highest record temps in a major US city (behind Las Vegas and Phoenix.) I never imagined it could get that hot here and I couldn't believe how it felt.

[@dkaloger5720]

This is really cool .Would love to see more topics like this .

[@521Undertaker]

This was the first year we didn’t buy one. The prices were just too high and money is already tight for essentials.

[@recurse]

I got mine for CAD $40 here on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Guess this is the place to be for Christmas trees!

[@arcticlover]

My parents live in Washington State and always get a Noble Fur! They also have an artificial tree, because why not have the best of both worlds? 😊This was a very fascinating watch to learn about how the pricing has changed (which they've commented on) so thank you for bringing us this story! Merry Christmas Andy and Team!

[@jdjphotographynl]

Not bothered that much by the rising price of Christmas trees when you have a fake one. ;)

[@rbu5938]

I personally prefer an artificial tree

[@tim333y7]

Here in Vienna austria we just bought a 2,5 meter tree for 83 euros, and I thought that was kinda expensive

[@joylox]

That's why I have I small fake tree, about 2" tall. Some family members would get trees off of their own lots if they had enough land. I don't, I only have a few shrubs. We have Balsam Fir trees in Canada's east. We do have decently priced trees, but I find they're a lot of work and not worth it.

[@miosz5808]

fake Christmas trees are better after 14 years of use

[@rbu5938]

Same I’ve had mine for the same time

[@boredbread5918]

Super entertaining

[@under6075]

Who else reused their old christmas tree this year 👇

[@rbu5938]

Yes I do

[@shanesheffield6346]

Just get a fake one from a second hand store they are very easy to find and usually aren’t expensive

[@Foinix]

I almost never comment but this channel is underrated so i'm just going to post to improve the engagement of the video. Reply to improve engagement as well.

[@Faultlinevideos]

Thanks for the support 🙏

[@rbu5938]

Really enjoyed this video, subed for more!

[@marmac83]

Why would people think Christmas trees come from forests? Weird flex.

[@Kilgorio]

Wow

[@claire2088]

I'd imagine that renting a living tree (that the farm then looks after for the rest of the year) from a local place is maybe the most eco option, but otherwise it's hard to say what's more eco. The eco impact of a tree cut from a well managed farm where the tree is native to the region is going to be lower that a tree cut from a mass plantation (where a native forest was destroyed to plant a monoculture of trees that are non native and require watering/protecting from pests etc). Then there's the carbon footprint of shipping them and keeping them looking fresh- living anywhere scorchingly hot and trying to prevent a real tree for dying on you must take water and maybe even air con. I'm not sure how bad faux trees are- especially in comparison to the other christmas excesses- a 15 year old faux tree vs flying/driving to families, huge consumption of (very tasty) food, unwanted gifts wrapped in plasticised paper. As a society it's relevant to discuss what's the most eco, but on an individual level I think people trying to be more consious in general is the main thing. Everytime we do has a carbon/eco cost and while we should all try and do better I think fake trees are somewhat demonised at times. Personally I don't have a tree at all because I can't face the effort of putting it up and taking it down, if I feel a bit better next year I'll probably try and get a pre lit faux tree (or try and rent one from somewhere that delivers and collects) because the whole ordeal is a lot and I'd rather not exhaust myself for the sake of a tree and save my energy for something more useful (to me).

[@mikejohn_s]

May I know the atlas you used in making these videos?

[@neutralgod300]

FIR TREE ARE THE REAL CHRISTMAS TREE!

[@jordanpinnick222]

Fake trees better

[@walli6388]

6:10 plastic trees are a lot more climate friendly. And especially more advantageous for nature because they mostly grow where otherwise there would be real forest.

[@jaymayhoi]

just curious if the Christmas tree industry is actually carbon / environmentally positive as stated in 6:15? my first thoughts were monoculture is usually not good for soil and how much water does the farms need in respect to how many "positive" impact they give back?

[@rory-red]

your suppose mulch your tree after christmas.. I have real tree ever year i will till i die.

[@handymanr4729]

I wonder how much water this industry uses and if its part of the reason america is drying up - growing needless trees to just cut them down and throw them away. I also wonder how many of the tree buyers are the same people that drive a Tesla

[@joeybaseball7352]

Just don't buy one. Jesus never had a Christmas tree.

[@treyton537]

😪 "promo sm"!!!

[@ritzharris1303]

I go out and cut my own in the forest. I make sure to pick one out of big clusters of small trees because most of them will die fighting for light and space when they get older. Never bought a Christmas tree in my life.