Hemptex, the world’s first sustainable flag company, and U.S. flag brand Flags for Good invite designers worldwide to reimagine one of the most enduring symbols on earth: the Peace Flag. Launching today on the International Day of Peace, the Global Peace Flag Challenge seeks a unifying symbol that reflects the courage, complexity, and collective effort peace requires now.

In Europe, the dove-and-olive-branch still carries enormous weight—its post-WWII rise shaped by Picasso’s iconic dove, which helped crystallise a shared longing for peace. In the U.S., the ☮ symbol—born from the nuclear disarmament movement—has become the dominant shorthand. Each image has done real cultural work, yet the result is a fragmented visual language: powerful locally, uneven globally.

There’s also a harder question worth naming. Symbols are cultural artefacts: they come from particular eras and people. Picasso’s dove defined peace for a generation—yet accounts from women in his life describe harmful behaviour toward them, which rightly prompts deeper reflection. Can we separate the message from the messenger? What does it mean for the world’s most universal peace icon to be tied to an artist whose private life embodied domination? This challenge invites designers to grapple with those tensions—and to imagine a symbol that can be owned by everyone, not borrowed from one figure or one time.

Prizes
● Winner: €1,000 cash + €1,000 donated to a peace- or dialogue-centred charity of the winner’s choice + 10 flags featuring the winning design.
● Two runner-ups: 10 flags each executed in Hemp fabric featuring their design.
● Next 10 runner-ups: 1 XL-size flag executed in Hemp fabric featuring their design.
● Rights & credit: Artists retain ownership of their work. Hemptex will use only the winning and finalist designs for this initiative, always with full credit.
Peace Zine
Selected entries will be published in a Peace Zine, shipped with every Peace Flag order—pairing artwork with the artist’s words to document the design conversation.

Niek van der Kuijl, founder of Hemptex, says: “Peace is not a slogan—it’s a practice. If a flag is meant to represent our values, its fabric and its form should live up to them. This challenge invites designers to craft a symbol—and a standard—we can all stand behind.”

Michael Green, founder of Flags for Good, adds: “We believe flags are powerful symbols of change. Partnering with Hemptex on a global Peace Flag is a chance to amplify voices of peace while ensuring the flags themselves are made in a way that is beneficial to our planet. This is the kind of symbol the world needs now—a unifying symbol of fairness, equality, kindness, and peace. This is our first project with our friends at Hemptex and will be the first of many, I would guess!”

Peace Zine
Selected entries will be published in a Peace Zine, shipped with every Peace Flag order—pairing artwork with the artist’s words to document the design conversation.
Key dates
● Submissions open: 21 September 2025 (International Day of Peace)
● Deadline: 1 November 2025, 23:59 CET
● Winner announced: 30 November 2025
How to submit: Full details, submission guidelines, and flag templates are available at hemptex.earth.