Flocking Still Spruces Up Christmas Trees - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

KENNEWICK, Wash. - If you're looking for a way to spruce up your Christmas tree, a store in Kennewick says people are still flocking trees.

Employees at Farmers Exchange say during the holidays, they decorate about 70 trees with the artificial snow dusting, also known as "flocking."

While flocking may have a reputation for not being environmentally friendly, Farmers Exchange uses a biodegradable mixture of corn starch, wood pulp and coloring.  To recycle your tree after the holidays, you can "de-flock.

"Essentially you don't want to get the tree wet overall after it's been flocked," Kyle Lemke, the sales manager at Farmers Exchange who does the flocking ,said, "because then it will start breaking down the flock material. Pretty safe on the environment, biodegradable, you can clean the tree off and you can recycle the tree. The flock will wash off the tree."

Farmers Exchange flocks trees of all sizes, you get to choose your colors, if you want glitter, and how much flocking you want.

The store is in downtown Kennewick at 215 W Canal Drive. It's open 9 AM to 5:30 PM Monday through Saturday.