13 Retailers That Discontinued Sale of Confederate Flag Merchandise

Protests against the Confederate flag have heated up following the murder of nine people in an African-American church in South Carolina, where the rebel flag — seen in many photos with the alleged killer — was flying outside the statehouse, and retailers are announcing they will no longer sell the Confederate battle flag.

Here are some of the businesses who have stopped their vending of the banner:

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• Wal-Mart. The giant Arkansas-based retailer led the charge, announcing the removal of all merchandise depicting the flag, saying it did not want to offend anyone. "We want everybody to feel comfortable shopping at Wal-Mart," CEO Doug McMillon told CNN Money.

• Amazon. Sales of the Confederate flag increased by more than 3,000 percent in the 24 hours prior to the company banning the flag's sale, according to Business Insider.

• eBay. "We have decided to prohibit Confederate flags, and many items containing this image, because we believe it has become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism," a eBay spokesman said in a statement.

• Etsy. "We are removing Confederate flag items from our marketplace," the company's website reads. "Etsy's policies prohibit items or listings that promote, support or glorify hatred and these items fall squarely into that category."

• Retailers Sears, Kmart, Google Shopping, and Overstock.com also pulled products featuring the Confederate flag.

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• Flag makers Valley Forge Flag, Quinn Flags, Flag Lady, and Dixie Flag Manufacturing will no longer produce or sell the Confederate flag. "It's not something regularly produced," Vice President of Sales Reggie Vandenbosch told USA Today. "We're just simply not going to participate in production or selling of these out of sensitivity and not wanting to create anybody any additional emotional pain."

• Warner Bros. The studio pulled a toy based on the 1980s television program “The Dukes of Hazzard” featuring the Confederate flag on the top of red vehicle called the General Lee.

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