Little Trees
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Little Trees are disposable
air freshener Air fresheners are consumer products that typically emit fragrance and are used in homes or commercial interiors such as restrooms, foyers, hallways, vestibules and other smaller indoor areas, as well as larger areas such as hotel lobbies, auto d ...
s shaped like a stylized
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
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 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 is usually affixed to ...
s. They are made of a specially formulated absorbent material produced in a variety of colors and
scent An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
s. 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 ...
, by Julius Sämann, 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 DeWitt is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,215 at the time of the 2020 census, which represented a 9.2% increase over that of 2000, making it the fastest growing city in Clinton County. History DeWitt was plat ...
. 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
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 capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
-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. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...
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 ( no, Patentstyretgainful 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, gainful employment is a positive psychology concept that explores ...
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 luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...
for making $275 key chains that copy the appearance of the Little Trees air fresheners.


In popular culture

Little Trees have been featured in multiple aspects of popular culture.


Art

*The 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.


Films

*Little Trees have been featured in such movies as: '' Repo Man'' (1984), ''
The Fisher King ''The Fisher King'' is a 1991 American fantasy comedy-drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter in supporting roles, ...
'' (1991), '' Grumpy Old Men'' (1993), ''
Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
'' (1995),. ''
Ocean's Eleven ''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The fil ...
'' (2001), ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003), and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (film) ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' is a 2022 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega, and the sequel to ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2020). Directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whitti ...
'' (2022) and
Euphoria (American TV series) ''Euphoria'' is an American teen drama television series created and principally written by Sam Levinson for HBO and based on the Israeli miniseries of the same name created by Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin. The series' main character is Rue ...
.


Music

*
Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York City ...
mentions Little Trees in the
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
song, "Slow Ride" ("I got the trees in my mirror/So my car won't smell").


Raggare

*In Norway, Sweden and Finland, the Wunder-Baum brand is sometimes associated with the
raggare Raggare is a subculture found mostly in Sweden and parts of Norway and Finland, and to a lesser extent in Denmark, Germany, and Austria. Raggare are related to the American greaser and rockabilly subcultures and are known for their love of ...
subculture.


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