The Ribbon International is a United Nations non-governmental organization that created a large decorated cloth promoting nuclear disarmament and care and protection of the earth.

In an event held on August 4, 1985, panels were connected in an 18 miles (29 km) long strip stretching from the Pentagon into Washington D.C.

Friends, relatives, places of worship, and other organizations helped spread Merritt's idea throughout the United States and around the world.

Coverage appeared in Time magazine (Pierce 1985)[22] and on the front page of the Washington Post (Saperstein 1985,[23] Kastor 1985,[24] McGrory 1985[25]) after the event.

Panels were received from all over the world, including Russia, England, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Puerto Rico.

[31] Marie Dennis Grosso, Joan Urbanczyk, and Margaret Schellenberg of the Center for a New Creation (a peace group in Arlington, Virginia) coordinated the Washington event.

Senator and Governor of Arkansas Dale Bumpers, also worked on preparations for the Washington event with her group Peace Links, a national nonpartisan organization of women who oppose the nuclear arms buildup.

{[33][34] Organizers planned a 10-to-15-mile (16 to 24 km) route through Washington D.C., and met with various police authorities and the National Park Service to obtain the required permits.

It then turned west along the north side of the National Mall, went around the Ellipse by the White House, passed the Lincoln Memorial, crossed the Potomac River again and returned to the Pentagon.

The entire route was lined with people, and crowds gathered at the three designated speaking areas (the Pentagon, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Capitol).

Singers, including Pete Seeger and Tom Chapin, rotated between the three stage areas, performing anti-war songs.

[12][41] After August 4, state coordinators returned home with their Ribbon panels, which were then displayed in libraries, schools, and museums, and used in parades and events.

Ribbons have been given to the New York City Council, Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and Pope John Paul II.

[50] In Israel, Interns for Peace works with Israeli and Palestinian youth to stage Ribbon events, joining them together at the Gaza Strip.

She wanted to create a Ribbon long enough to stretch from the United Nations to the World Trade Center Memorial site and to a Muslim shrine.

[55] The Ribbon Committee worked with New York City Council on Nuclear Weapons Abolition Day, held April 28, 2004.