• steve
• February 11, 2026
• 2 Comments

Last updated 2/11/26. Previously updated 2/29/24. Original publish date 9/5/21.

Is your USA Flag made in the USA?

I figured that it’s 2026 and it’s time to update this article in time for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

When I first wrote this article, China completely dominated production of American flags. The reason is simple. There’s no copyright on the design of the Stars and Stripes, which is in the public domain. And while there are regulations on the books that make it illegal to represent the flag “disrespectfully”, as well as legal requirement for specifying the country of origin, there’s nothing preventing anyone at all from printing the flag and selling it.

The only real “checks” come from consumers themselves, not lawyers or lawmakers. And most consumers, of course, look only at the price tag and not the country of origin.

In 2003, just two years after China’s entry into the WTO, several flag manufacturers saw the writing on the wall and created a new non-profit group called the Flag Manufacturer’s Association of America. The stated goal of this organization was to certify flags that were made in the USA with domestic resources and labor.

Look for this seal to make sure that the flag you’re buying is authentic and wasn’t imported from another country. There may be some US-made flags that don’t have this seal (some flag makers may not wish to pay the fee that’s required to get certified), but every flag that has this seal is guaranteed to be made in the USA.

The problem is that China manufacturers are getting sophisticated. Here’s an example of a listing that has the letters “USA” in its product photo to try to fool people into thinking it was made in the USA. It’s made in China, of course.

Like I said, consumers are getting more and more educated, but there are still far too many China-produced American flags littering Walmart and Amazon.

Avoid brands like “Cheeerrrs”, “Anley”, “G128”, “Vipper”, “VSVO”, “OLYNIK”, “MUFRI”, and many others. They manipulated Amazon to get to thousands of reviews (in some cases tens of thousands), and even put patriotic messaging in their product pages, with messages like “Show your patriotism”, “God bless America”, “Honor the veterans”, complete with patriotic stock photos. But don’t be fooled if you see tens of thousands of 5-star reviews–they are Red Chinese through and through.

The US Government Steps In (Finally)

I’m generally a huge fan of the free market and not a fan of big government meddling in commerce. However, in this case they should have stepped in a long time ago. Why? Because what China was doing was not the “free market” at all. Ironically, it was the US government that passed laws and regulations that made it difficult for domestic manufacturers to do business, while at the same time turning a blind eye to China dumping cheap products made in terrible conditions by slave-level workers on our markets.

At long last, in 2024 Congress passed and the President signed The American Flag Act, which requires the federal government to purchase only US-made flags. Of course, state and local governments and citizens are still able to purchase cheap China-made junk, but at least every federal building and office had to support American businesses.

The Resurgence of Made in the USA Flags

Flag manufacturing is one of those industries that should be examined to understand how the USA lost industry after industry to China—and how the USA can claw its way back.

First, there are still flag manufacturers in the USA who still take pride in their craftsmanship. Some of these companies date back over 100 years. Thank heavens they weren’t driven out of business before it was too late. Other industries like toaster and clock radio manufacturers weren’t so lucky.

Second, corporations and government contractors have tremendous influence through their buying power. It was only after they were called out for their hypocrisy by consumers that they were shamed into reshoring their manufacturing—and in a rare example of Congress actually being in touch with the People, they passed laws to give American manufacturers a fighting chance.

Third, consumers will seek out quality. If American flag makers do the same thing that American car makers did in the 1980 and 1990s by putting out garbage products, consumers won’t buy them blindly just because they’re “made in the USA”. Happily, there’s robust competition in the USA, so there are plenty of flag makers competing to provide the best quality at the lowest price, without China cheating.

We can only hope and pray that 20 years from now more of our industry will have come back to the USA, and not the alternate scenario of the USA having lost all of its manufacturing to China except for American flags.

I’ve tried to pick out the best USA-made flag manufacturers below; they’re all very similar in terms of their offerings (nylon, polyester, or cotton-polyester fabrics in various sizes). You won’t go wrong buying from any one of them.

Best USA Flag Manufactuers in the USA – Quick Ranking

1. Rushmore Rose USA

Rushmore Rose is by far the most highly and most often reviewed flag on Amazon. They’re a company that started in 2016 out of Houston, Texas.

This nylon flag is one of the highest quality flags you can buy. It comes in 3×5, 4×6, and 5×8 sizes. The stars are embroidered and the strips are individually sewn, so this is the real deal.

It comes with heavy duty brass grommets for putting a cable or rope through, as well as a quadruple stitched fly hem to prevent fraying. All the materials used in making the flags are sourced and produced in the USA.

The main gripe that many users had about the flag (which you can read in negative reviews from 2019) was that Rushmore Rose stamped their name and their Web site address directly on the edge of the flag. In many ways this was necessary to avoid counterfeiters hijacking their listings on Amazon. But the reviewers had a good point that this does detract from the flag. It seems that as of 2021 they’ve changed their design so that they print their name on a label that’s sewed onto the edge of the flag and can easily be removed now. This seems to be a good compromise, and it’s a good sign that they listen to their customers.

2. Grace Alley

Not too far behind Rushmore Rose in terms of popularity on Amazon is Grace Alley, a veteran-owned family business out of Florida. I love how small family-owned businesses like this have been able to find success on Amazon over big companies by putting up their high quality products and getting great reviews. This is the way Amazon was supposed to work.

Sadly, China companies have manipulated Amazon’s system with misleading product information and fake reviews to push their way to dominance. So while Amazon democratized e-commerce, China companies saw Amazon’s openness as opportunities for exploitation. And Amazon is either clueless to stop it or worse–unwilling to stop it.

One would hope that Amazon would wake up and put an end to this kind of manipulation of their platform.

Grace Alley’s most popular product is their 3×5 foot nylon flag with embroidered stars and sewn stripes. It boasts vibrant colors and long-lasting performance.

3. Annin Flagmakers

Annin is a American flag maker that’s been in business since 1847. They’re the leading manufacturer of flags made in the USA, and use domestically-sourced materials and some of the most experienced flag makers in the world. Their headquarters are in New Jersey, and they maintain factories in South Boston, Virginia; Coshocton, Ohio; and Cobbs Creek, Virginia.

Annin has a storied history; Annin made the American flags that were used in some of the most iconic moments of history. Annin made the US flag that was draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket, the one that was raised at Iwo Jima, the ones planted by Commander Peary at the North Pole in 1909 and by Admiral Byrd at the South Pole in 1930, and even the one that was planted on the moon. That last one is a subject of contention–some say that the flag was purchased at Sears by three secretaries at NASA during their lunch break, which would make the flags Annin flags; others say that the flags were purchased by the Government Stock Catalog, which would make them Valley Forge flags. NASA probably intentionally kept it vague so that neither company could use it for marketing purposes (“We don’t want another Tang”).

Annin’s most popular product is this 3×5 foot flag made of Polyurethane (Polyester). It markets itself as “the strongest, longest lasting” flag you can get. The 2-ply polyester is designed to minimize fading over time, and the open weave allows wind to pass through so the flag doesn’t go through too much stress. That said, read through the reviews to set your expectations–it sounds like the reviewers who complained kept their flags out for months at a time or even mounted on cars, and that kind of stress probably isn’t great for any flag.

Check out Annin’s full store for flags with other features, such as different sizes or materials.

4. Valley Forge

Valley Forge is another huge flag manufacturer based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing facilities throughout South Carolina. They were founded in 1882 and to this day remains a family-run business. They started out as a company selling burlap bags and World War I surplus, but started its flag-making operations during the Depression Era. When World War II hit, they began supplying the US government and military with flags, which they continue to do to this day. Valley Forge flags are used in honoring soldiers who are laid to rest, and have been used on the caskets of most American presidents in the last four decades, including Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, and Kennedy. As I alluded to above, it’s unclear whether a Valley Forge flag flew on the moon, but Valley Forge did definitely make all the 4×6 inch flags of different states and countries that flew on Apollo.

Valley Forge products can be found at major retailers, including Amazon. Their most popular flag is this 4×6 foot nylon flag, which also comes in 5×8, 6×10, 8×12, and 10×15 foot sizes and in sleeved or grommeted variations.

In 2015 Valley Forge also entered into a partnership with Wal-Mart to sell a standalone brand called Betsy Flags, which were designed to be more affordable and are made out of Kingstree, South Carolina. You’ll find great deals at Walmart that come really close to pricing you’d get from China-made manufacturers, like this 4 pack of 4×6 inch flags for less than 50 cents a flag, this 29×50 inch flag for under $10, or this 4×6 foot flag for under $30, all made in the USA.

5. Freedom and Glory (Beacon and Patriarch)

Freedom and Glory is a brand based in North Carolina. A lot of consumers don’t know about them, because they’ve primarily specialized in commercial and government customers such as schools, municipalities, and businesses. It probably didn’t help that they’ve been called “Carrot Top Industries” for years, but they recently rebranded to a more intuitive name for consumers. They still sell through resellers, but Amazon page also sells directly to consumers.

After rebranding its flag-manufacturing division as Freedom and Glory, the company introduced product lines like Beacon® nylon flags and Patriarch® polyester flags, positioning them alongside legacy manufacturers such as Annin and Valley Forge while emphasizing American manufacturing and durability for outdoor display.

6. Gettysburg Flag Works

Gettysburg Flag Works is a family-owned American flag retailer and manufacturer based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1993, the company specializes in U.S.-made American flags, historic and military flags, custom flags, and flagpoles for residential, commercial, and government customers. Gettysburg Flag Works is known for emphasizing domestic sourcing, historical accuracy in reproduction flags, and partnerships with established U.S. manufacturers such as Annin Flagmakers and Valley Forge Flag. In addition to retail sales, the company produces custom-printed flags and banners in-house.

Their flagship product (no pun intended) is the Battle-Tough American Flag, appropriate branding for a company out of Gettysburg. The all-weather nylon and bright white heater is all made in the USA.

7. Star Spangled Flags

I can’t find a whole lot of background information on Star Spangled Flags, other than it looks like they were incorporated in Virginia in 2017. They do have an excellent Web site with lots of great information about flags, as well as the ability to purchase American flags, state flags, military flags, historical flags, and flags from different counties. And they have a fairly robust Amazon store.

Their most popular flag is this 3×5 foot 100% nylon flag, with embroidered stars and sewn strips. One point in their favor is that they seem to use a traditional label, and do not print their company information on the flag itself like other manufacturers do.

It looks like Star Spangled Flags fell victim to a common problem where third party sellers added themselves as sellers on their product page, and then proceeded to hijack buyers and send them made in China products. This led to lots of negative reviews which ironically hurt them and helped other listings, many which were owned by the same China sellers. Happily it looks like they’ve largely solved this, but be sure to double-check that your order is sold by Star Spangled Flags LLC and Fulfilled by Amazon.

8. Tidmore Flags

Tidmore Flags is an interesting case. They sell all kinds of American flags of different sizes and materials, as well as state flags and speciality flags.

Their top selling product is this 3′ x 5′ 2-ply polyester American flag, which currently goes for a reasonable $52.

If you need a little bigger, they have this 4′ x 6′ flag for $63.

And if you need a heavy duty one, this 10′ x 15′ flag for $404 two-ply polyester flag will last you for years through all kinds of conditions (this size is recommended for a 40′-45′ flagpole). You can also get a nylon version for a little less.

Finally, they also make these 8″ x 12″ flags for waving in your hand, all in the USA.

What’s interesting is that while they’re the seller, they sell flags of other brands (for example, their 3′ x 5′ flag is produced by FlagZone). My guess is that they mainly resell flags they source from multiple manufacturers. As long as they continue to choose only made in USA flag makers, that’s fine in my book!

9. Made in USA Flag Company

Made in USA Flags is a small family-owned business that’s been selling flags since 1977. They’re located in Dubuque, Iowa, and their flags are 100% made in America, using American materials and American labor in American factories.

They primarily sell through Amazon and consistently get high reviews. Their top selling flag is their heavy duty, premium 2-ply polyester flag that is dyed using aniline dye which pierces the polyester, resulting in vivid, bright color that lasts a long time. It comes in 3×5, 4×6, 5×8, and 6×10 foot sizes.

They also sell Nylon flags, as well as vintage Betsy Ross style flags (with 13 stars in a circle), and Bennington 1776 flags (with 13 stars surrounding the number 76)

10. GiftExpress

If you’re looking for small, handheld flags that you can carry around and hand out, my first recommendation would the 4 inch x 6 inch Betsy Flags I mentioned above.

But if that’s not available for any reason, GiftExpress also sells these 4×6 inch flags at a reasonable price. These are a great size for giving to kids or waving at parades.

They also sell a larger 8×12 inch flag that are perfect for patios and walkways.

Do you know of other America flags not made in China worthy of mention here? Let us know in the comments!