Cast needles or PVC

A PVC branch is film cut into strips and twisted onto wire. It is light, cheap and passable in photos, but up close it reads as tinsel: the strip is flat with a straight edge, and the wire shows through.

A cast branch is pressure-moulded in a mould taken from real needles. It has thickness, a vein and a rounded tip, so up close and to the touch it behaves like a real needle, not a strip of tape.

What it changes in practice

• Cast needles do not shed — none on the floor in December, or when the tree is packed away
• A cast branch holds its shape once fluffed, so the crown does not sag before the holidays are over
• A flat PVC strip creases at the bend and by the second season will no longer straighten

What these branches are made of

The trees we sell are cast from 100% virgin SABIC polyethylene (the Netherlands). Virgin means not recycled: recycled material gives patchy colour and turns brittle over time.

Many models are combined: cast needles on the outside, where they are seen and touched, and film inside the crown, where it adds volume. This is not cost-cutting but a way to get a dense crown without excess weight.