United States flag sales have historically been tied to domestic political climate and world events. When our nation is threatened or attacked, patriotism and flag sales soar.
Annin Flagmakers, founded in 1847, is the nation's oldest and largest flag manufacturer and experienced its first big surge in business when the Civil War ignited the fires of patriotism. This was the first time in America's history that private citizens purchased American flags in significant numbers to display on their homes.
The demand for United States flags boomed again in 1917 with our involvement in World War I. While sales of American flags dipped during the depression years, they rose again during the patriotic fervor of World War II. The addition of the new states of Alaska and Hawaii generated an avalanche of orders from Americans who wanted to replace their outdated forty-eight star U.S. flags with the new fifty-star version.
The anti-Vietnam War sentiment during the turbulent period of the late sixties and early seventies made those years lean ones for U.S. flag sales, but America's Bicentennial in 1976 brought Old Glory back stronger than ever.
The tragic events of September 11, 2001 led to an unprecedented demand for the availability of United States flags for sale. Orders poured in for quantities of U.S. flags that were twenty times that of normal demand.
Annin Flagmakers is still privately owned and operated, with all production in the United States, using only materials that are domestic in origin.