in particular was facing serious deforestation of its pine forests. This became a problem for the many Germans who wanted to have a real, pine Christmas tree.
To combat the shortage, some Germans began making fake trees out of goose feathers. They dyed the feathers green and split the fibers to make them appear branch-like. But the flimsy feathers were not very sturdy and could not hold more than a few ornaments. Despite their appearance, these first artificial trees began to spread throughout Europe.
World wars in the early 20th century exacerbated the tree shortage. During World War II, the war effort took over building supplies and caused, preventing many people from being able to get real Christmas trees. At this time, British company Addis Housewares was doing good business producing toilet brushes – a necessary item, even if not the most glamorous. As the holiday season approached and pine trees continued to be in short supply, Addis Housewares repurposed their toilet-brush-making machinery to make. These looked a bit closer to the real thing than green-dyed feathers, and the company sent its artificial trees to London to inspire some holiday spirit after the city was bombed.
Toilet-brush trees started to catch on slowly in Europe, but the design wasn’t totally right. And back in the United States, real trees still dominated the market. By 1959, the only fake trees gaining popularity were