War in Iraq drives up sales of U.S. flags, peace emblems
| • | Pro-war or not, Hawai'i shoppers inspired |
By Cheryl Wittenauer
Associated Press
While sales of Old Glory have picked up since the Iraq war began, shops that stock anti-war banners, stickers and pins are also finding more customers.
Associated Press
Sales of U.S. flags are 25 percent above normal so far this year at Annin & Co., the nation's largest manufacturer of the Stars and Stripes, said Dale Coots, spokeswoman for the company in Roseland, N.J. But because the company sells to wholesalers as well as retailers, she said it was hard to tell how much actual consumer sales have increased.
Elizabeth Rosas turns out hundreds of American flags at Rainbow Pennant Inc. in Oklahoma City. Sales of patriotic symbols have been brisk since the start of the Iraq war. But sales of anti-war banners and peace pins also have increased in recent days.
Valley Forge Flag in Womelsdorf, Pa., the No. 2 manufacturer, reported that sales increased between 15 percent and 20 percent compared to a year ago.
Retail chains would not release specific figures, but Kmart and Wal-Mart said they have seen nationwide increases in the demand for American flags and yellow ribbons, especially in towns with military installations.
One patriotic product that the flag makers say has taken off wildly is the star service banner used by families of troops for window displays.
"The demand is absolutely crazy," said Brad Evans, general manager of Eder Flag in Oak Creek, Wis. "We're working two shifts and Saturday to fill orders."
Still, Evans said, the recent spurt in business is nothing like that seen after Sept. 11, when flags and other American emblems multiplied on cars and homes. "We've picked up in the last week or two, but it's not to the point of insanity," he said.
C. Britt Beemer of America's Research Group, a strategic marketing firm that tracks consumer trends, called recent U.S. flag sales a "small drip, drip, drip versus a gush of emotions after Sept. 11."
Peace-oriented merchandise, meanwhile, is seeing a resurgence of its own, sellers say.
Dave Wampler, owner of the Simple Living Network in Trout Lake, Wash., said he can't stock enough items with peace symbols, flags of the Earth and similar merchandise.
"It says to me that people are concerned and, for many people, the American Dream has become somewhat of a nightmare," he said. "They're trying to find ways to speak out and say there are alternatives."
Global Vision for Peace, a group that organized two months ago to use the Oscars as a platform to send a message of peace, commissioned a pin emulating Pablo Picasso's Dove of Peace.
Pins worn by some actors at last Sunday's 75th annual Academy Awards ceremony are being auctioned on eBay, and more than 1,000 pins have been ordered, Global Vision co-founder Cliff Rothman said.
