Little Trees are disposable

air freshener Air fresheners are products designed to reduce unwanted odors in indoor spaces, to introduce pleasant fragrances, or both. They typically emit fragrance to mask odors but may use other methods of action such as absorbing, bonding to, or chemically ...

s shaped like a stylized

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree, marketed for use in motor vehicles, and most commonly seen hanging from

rear-view mirror A rear-view mirror (or rearview mirror) is a, usually plane mirror, flat, mirror in automobiles and other vehicles, designed to allow the driver to see rearward through the vehicle's rear window (rear windshield). In cars, the rear-view mirror ...

s. They are made of an absorbent material produced in a variety of colors and scents. Little Trees were invented in 1952 in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, by

Julius Sämann Julius Sämann (, ; 15 April 1911 in Uffenheim, Germany – May 9, 1999) was a German-Canadian chemist who invented many everyday items, including Little Trees pine-tree-shaped air fresheners in Watertown, New York in 1952. Sämann was born i ...

, a German-Jewish chemist and businessman who had fled the Nazis. He had studied Alpine tree aromas in the forests of Canada and was interested in the biological mechanisms used to transport and disseminate them. Little Trees air fresheners are manufactured in the United States by the Car-Freshner Corporation at factories (such as Royal Pine) in Watertown, New York and DeWitt, Iowa. Several companies in Europe produce Little Trees under license from Julius Sämann Ltd. using the names Wunder-Baum (in Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary and Sweden) and Arbre Magique (in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). It was formerly known as Magic Tree in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until the "Little Tree" name was adopted in 2011. The company is known for pursuing lawsuits to protect its trademark.

Trademark

Car-Freshner fiercely defends its trademark of the tree-shaped air freshener design, and has filed several lawsuits against makers of lookalike products and against companies that use their products in other commercial media. *In 2002, Car-Freshner sued Rite Way Wholesale and Distributors, Inc. of New York for importing and distributing a "vanilla-scented tree shaped air fresheners with a patriotic design". As a result of the judgement, the defendants were required to surrender their entire inventory to the plaintiffs for destruction, and were required to pay an unspecified penalty. *In 2006, Car-Freshner sued Dale Detwiler (owner of the

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

-based Corndog Cards & Novelties) after Detwiler company produced holiday greeting cards that bore a glow-in-the-dark image of a scratch-and-sniff tree-shaped air freshener. *In 2006, Car-Freshner won a suit against UK-based Tetrosyl Ltd for producing a tree-shaped air freshener that "included snow, flashing lights, the shape of a tub at the bottom". *In 2009, Car-Freshner sued

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

for unauthorized use of its tree-shaped air fresheners in a series of stock photographs. *Julius Sämann Ltd. filed a complaint with the

Norwegian Industrial Property Office The Norwegian Industrial Property Office (gainful employment Broadly, gainful employment refers to an employment situation where the employee receives steady work, payment from the employer and that allows for self-sufficiency. In psychology, the term refers to a positive psychology concept that explores th ...

to the homeless and previously incarcerated, for producing tree-shaped air fresheners made of cedar wood. In September 2016, unable to cope with the growing legal costs, Sun Cedar filed for bankruptcy. *In 2018, Car-Freshner sued

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

for making $275 key chains that copy the appearance of the Little Trees air fresheners.

In popular culture

British artist Jack Williams, the son of a car salesman, created ‘‘Forest’’, a 2009 installation using 350 Royal Pine air fresheners, hung in a square configuration from the ceiling via fishing wire. In the '' I Am Weasel'' episode ''Power of Odor'', the atmosphere of a city is being compromised by the stench of pigs owned by I.R. Baboon. The city's mayor tries to take on the smell as he walks into the scene with a tree-shaped air freshener tied to his nose. But the stench proves too powerful when his air freshener turns into soot. In the sloth scene in the 1995 film ''Seven'', several 'Little Tree' air-fresheners were suspended in a room to mask the smell of the emaciated body. In the ''

Chowder Chowder is a thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. Clam chowder from New England ...

'' episode ''Stinky Love'', Mung Daal’s staff manages to make dozens of a stinky dish in deep pans. Because Schnitzel could not take dish’s strong smell, he has to wear a few Little Trees as he serves them to the customers.

Legality

In the United States, many states have regulations concerning obstructed view, objects hanging from the rear-view mirror, obstructed windshield, or similar legislation. Citations and/or custodial arrests for violations of such statutes are not unknown.

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506095337/http://www.catmag.co.uk/a-little-change-for-magic-tree, archive-date=2017-05-06, date=2011-08-25, title=A little change for Magic Tree, publisher=CAT, url=http://www.catmag.co.uk/a-little-change-for-magic-tree, quote=One of the most recognisable brands in the UK aftermarket, agic Tree's UK distributor hasannounced that from this month the Magic Tree brand will change its name to Little Trees., access-date=2018-02-03{{cite web, title=The Magic Tree air freshener: where it came from, and why it's so successful, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728171115/http://www.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/510-the-magic-tree-air-freshener-where-it-came-from-and-why-it-s-so-successful, url=https://www.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/510-the-magic-tree-air-freshener-where-it-came-from-and-why-it-s-so-successful, archive-date=2016-07-28, quote=The Magic Tree car air freshener – now more commonly known as the Little Trees air freshener – has become a motoring icon., publisher=ArnoldClark.com, access-date=2018-02-03, date=2014-02-25, url-status=dead

External links

Car-Freshner Corporation
@ www.littletrees.com
Little Trees Europe
@ www.little-trees.eu Automotive accessories American inventions