The American Flag's Life Cycle

The American Flag's Life Cycle

by Paris Small

History of the U.S Flag

The creator of first U.S of America flag is rumored to be a Philadelphian woman named Betsy Ross in 1776 at the request of General George Washington himself. The original flag was made out of hemp material. Ross’s design had thirteen white stars arranged in a circle beside thirteen alternating red and white stripes.

History of U.S Flag cont.

The current U.S Flag was created in 1958 by a seventeen-year-old, named Robert G. Heft from Lancaster, Ohio.

"Annin certifies that its American flags have been made in the USA of material that are domestic in origin and that all processes in every step of its manufacture were completed in USA facilities with USA labor”

U.S Flag Elements

The two primary materials significant in creating the U. S flag, is nylon and fabric dye. SolarMax is classified as nylon 6.6. The primary characteristics of nylon 6.6 are its toughness, lightness in weight, and elasticity as a synthetic polymer. Nylon is made from petroleum products, which give it its protein-like chemical structure. Disperse dyes are used for dyeing most of the manufactured fibers like nylon, polyester and other synthetic fibers.

Annin's 2012 Corporate Video (2:33-4:46)

Conventional U.S Flag Disposal

The 1st method simply requires that the blue star field be cut from its stripes, then its strips cut from each other, so it’s no longer a flag before disposing of it in a waste bin.

The 2nd method is burning the U.S flag till incinerated, then burying it, is the most commonly accepted method to retire flags.

Advantages to Burning Nylon

Scientifically Preferred - “Preferred options for disposal are (1) recycling, (2) incineration with energy recovery, and (3) landfill. The high fuel value of this product makes option 2 very desirable for material that cannot be recycled. But incinerator must be capable of scrubbing out acidic combustion products”.

Nylon is thermoplastic- Thermoplastic fibers are less susceptible to ignition by small flames and in most cases the fabric self-extinguishes.

Alternative Disposal for U.S flags

The first method is combining two more flags to create a new flag.

The second method is restoration. Companies like Annin provide services to restore flags.

The third method is advocated by a company called American Flag Recycling . The company insists that this new process “converts virtually 100% of a nylon flag back into virgin grade nylon material which can be made into another new American flag”.

U.S Flag's Emissions & Energy Use

U.S Flag Legislation

The legislation surrounding the United States flag is called the U.S Code. “This code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. It does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag. This is left to the states and to the federal government of the District of Columbia. Each state has its own flag law”.

U.S Flag Legislation cont.

Two historical cases Texas v. Johnson in June 1989 and United States vs. Eichman June 1990 dealt with desecration to the U.S flag and penalties for such actions. In both cases, the Supreme Court determined that legislation imposing penalties for desecrating to the flag is unconstitutional. Also no federal agency, including the President, has the power to impose official laws legally binding civilians or civilian groups to this Code.

Reflection

The current reliance of nylon for the production of U.S flags furthers the nation’s dependence on oil.

Majority of U.S flags are produced on the soil it stands for and by a skilled workforce at textile plants based on the homeland.

Interesting that the creators of nylon DuPont concluded that the best disposal method of nylon was by incineration, which is coincidently in accordance with honoring a worn out flag that is likely to be made of nylon.

Consider

The American firm, DuPont, responsible for the creation of nylon should strive to create its ecological responsible alternative. Only then, will American innovation once again serve as a testament of American innovation by lessening the nation’s reliance on oil. And what other product would best serve as representative of such a technological advancement other than the flag of the United States?

Company of U.S Flag

Annin Flagmakers pride themselves as the “Oldest and Largest Maker of flags in the United States since 1847”. Annin supplied flags for America's most iconic moments and ceremonies including President Lincoln's inauguration, the Iwo Jima photograph, the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, and as of late, President Obama's Inauguration earlier this year.

The Stockholm Environment New Zealand Merino

Institute Total Energy Use