Most artificial trees are stamped out by the thousand. Ours take a longer road, through two countries and one small village in central Ukraine. Here is that road, step by step.
Written by the Always Green team in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Updated October 2026.
Pictured: Christmas Tree "Montana". We don't have it this year, but let us know - we will make it available for the next Christmas.
1. It starts with the right plastic
Every Always Green tree begins as virgin polyethylene from SABIC in the Netherlands. It is not recycled and it is not PVC. Polyethylene holds a detailed shape and stays soft and flexible season after season.
2. Every tip is molded from a real spruce
The granules travel to the Gordi Group workshop in Yurkivka, a village near Uman. There the polyethylene is melted and pressed into molds taken from real spruce branches. Each tip comes out with the texture of real needles: the fine lines, the lighter ends and the natural taper. The founder has been making trees this way for more than two decades.
3. Tips become branches, by hand
A single tip is just a sprig. To make a branch, craftspeople gather several tips and bind them onto a branch stem with a special thread. The interior branches are built from the same molded tips as the outside, so there are no flat PVC fillers hiding near the trunk. (Why that matters: molded PE vs PVC.)
4. The umbrella system
Every branch hangs on a steel hinge ring fixed to the center pole. The hinge parts are stamped on a press and mounted on the pole tier by tier. When you lift a section, the branches fold down. When you set it on the pole, they open like an umbrella. No color-coded hooks, no branches to insert one by one. More on how the umbrella system works.
5. A stand built to carry it
The pole sits in a steel stand made for the tree's weight and height. It keeps an 8 ft tree steady on hardwood or carpet.
6. Checked, folded, boxed
Finished trees are folded down, boxed and stacked in the warehouse. From there they go onto pallets and into the container bound for the United States.
7. From Ukraine to Kansas City
Gordi Group makes the trees. Always Green is its official partner in the United States. Our first U.S. shipment has arrived in Missouri. In-stock orders normally ship from our Lee's Summit fulfillment location within 1–3 business days. When this container is sold, the next trees arrive next season.
And then, in your living room
Setup takes a few steps: stand, sections, fluff. The full walkthrough with photos is here: How to set up your Christmas tree.
In the Kansas City area? We offer in-home tree setup for $85.
Common questions
Where are Always Green trees made?
In the Gordi Group workshop in Yurkivka, a village in the Uman district of central Ukraine. Always Green is Gordi Group's official partner in the United States.
Are the trees 100% PE?
Yes. Every tip on every branch, inside and outside, is molded polyethylene. There is no PVC in the branches.
Is the plastic recycled?
No. The trees are made from virgin polyethylene supplied by SABIC.
When will my tree ship?
Our first U.S. shipment has arrived in the Kansas City area. In-stock orders normally dispatch within 1–3 business days, with tracking provided by email.