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Canada still has a National Flag Committee with members from industry, textile testing labs and various government departments. The committee regularly reviews Canada's flag standards to make sure our national emblem is always at its best.
The Interdepartmental Study Group on the Canadian Flag laid out standards for more than just the flag's colours and fabric. When the "Standard for the National Flag of Canada" was published in 1966, the committee had outlined specifications for everything including dimensions, grommets, material, cordage, sewing thread, wooden toggles, brass clips, laundering and flag disposal procedures.
There are actually three different sets of standards for the flag: one for outdoor use, one for indoor use and one for flags that are to be used only once.
In 1970, NRC adjusted the flag's colours once again to meet new international standards.
Flags are exposed to some pretty harsh conditions while outdoors. Rain, high winds and strong ultraviolet rays from the sun can damage fabric and fade colours. In 1965, newspapers reported that the flags on Parliament Hill needed to be replaced every two days!
NRC researchers have spent a lot of time testing how Canada's flag stands up to different conditions. To test how different red dyes faded, six flags were hung on a clothesline atop an NRC building in Ottawa in 1965. Passers-by were rather puzzled by the odd arrangement of flags, which were later moved to traditional flag poles.
|Seven flags are subjected to varying wind speeds in NRC's propulsion wind tunnel.|
More recently, wear and tear tests have been conducted in NRC's wind tunnels to determine which fabrics and stitching methods were most durable. Researchers also looked at which materials required the least amount of wind to be able to fly – they called this the "flag flutter frequency."
Thanks to tests like these, scientists have been able to extend outdoor flag life to at least 30 days – a dramatic improvement over the mere two days Canada's earliest Maple Leaf flags lasted in the elements.
NRC's flag research has helped other countries protect their national colours as well. After setting the standards for the Maple Leaf, NRC's researchers were approached by other government officials to conduct similar research for the flag of the Bahamas.