FlagSource Supports America!

Wednsday, March 13, 2008 12:34pm

The following press release was reported in The Washington Post:
American Flag Manufacturers Speak with One Voice, "Just Say, I’ll Wait."

An unprecedented joint statement by several of America’s domestic flag manufacturers was released today citing reports of over 1 million U.S. flags being sewn in China for export to the USA.

"We all recognize that there is an enormous groundswell of demand for U.S. flags right now and all of us are scrambling to fill that demand." says Greg Harris; President of Womelsdorf, PA based Valley Forge Flag Company. "We have all been committed to maintaining the simple, unrelenting principle that U.S. flags should be made of American materials in America."

The U.S. flag industry has many small participants, but only a handful comprise the bulk of production. The Washington Post recently reported that at least one million U.S. flags are being sewn in China for the American market. Annin & Co. of Roseland, New Jersey is the nation’s largest and oldest flag manufacturer. Joe LaPaglia, President of Annin & Co. supports the industry’s position. We are confident that the American people will speak with a singular voice when they have the option of buying a flag made in the United States or one made in China. We urge them to stand fast and say, "No thanks, I’ll wait."

Closely related to the behavior of other textile-based industries, American flag manufacturers have seen domestic supplies of materials and resources like cotton and labor move across borders where expenses and wages are lower. "We have resisted the temptation to follow textile manufacturing overseas for the simple reason that an American flag has an element, patriotism, that exceeds cost considerations." Says Mr. Harris.

Unlike other manufactured products that fled overseas due to quality and consumer feature reasons, domestic U.S. flags do not take a back seat to the quality of overseas manufacturing. "In fact," explains Mr. LaPaglia, "our domestic manufacturing base has performed extraordinarily in continuing to find high quality materials, methods and resources that are made in the USA while performing in a robust and competitive marketplace."

Janice Christiansen, President of FlagSource adds, "We are all committed to manufacturing as many American flags as we can for distribution to the American public."