Over the years, the American flag has been used in various ways, including as a design element on clothing, especially shirts. People want the flag on their shirts for various reasons, including:
Whatever the reason, it’s always important to treat the flag with respect and follow flag etiquette.
That’s why you want to deal with a company that knows how to print the USA flag and has the experience to back it. So, what exactly are the American flag on shirt rules?
It’s understandable that noble desires and intentions can make you eager to wear the American flag on your shirt. If you wear it, ensure you remain on the right side of the American flag on shirt rules by following these guidelines:
The flag is most commonly placed on shirt sleeves. But since this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it can be placed elsewhere too.
The golden rule is to keep it stars before bars when aligning and positioning the flag on the attire. The idea is to have the stars always face the front of the body, with the stripes behind them, in a charging forward style.
Alternatively, picture yourself wearing the shirt or it being mounted on a flagpole. You should see the union first, followed by the stripes, whether you turn to the right or left sleeve. The union, or canton, is the blue background with the 50 stars.
The direction the flag points to is up to the client’s discretion when it’s not being printed on shirt sleeves.
Lastly, the flag needs to be displayed in its entirety, and not cut off at the edges. The image must preserve the proportions of the flag and not distort its image.
Using high-quality American-made shirts is a crucial aspect of custom printing the American flag.
Since the flag is a powerful symbol, it deserves to be displayed on a high-quality material that will last and maintain its integrity.
While there’s no stipulated code on the material for custom-printed products with the American flag, choosing a shirt made in the USA shows your true passion for this country and ensures the shirt will be comfortable, durable, and long-lasting.
Additionally, using a high-quality printing process will ensure that the flag’s design is crisp, vibrant, and long-lasting. Such methods include:
Remember, the choice of material should maintain the flag’s integrity upon printing, and ensure its durability and longevity.
If you’re unsure about the type or quality of material used, don’t hesitate to consult reputable professionals, such as fancysweetstx, to get started.
The American flag has a specific color scheme that needs to be accurately represented in any custom-printed design.
While the official colors of the flag are white, red, and blue, the numerous shades of blue and red can lead to varying expectations for a print.
Thankfully, using the Pantone Matching System (PMS), simply referred to as Pantone colors, helps establish consistent expectations and values for colors, as the table below demonstrates.
Color/Shade | PMS Code | Flag Color Meaning/Significance |
Old Glory Red (deep vibrant red) | 193 | Vitality, hardiness, and valor |
White | Pantone white | Purity and innocence |
Old Glory Blue (shade of navy blue) | 282 | Vigilance, perseverance, and justice |
The red, white, and blue colors appear in the following proportions:
Printing the American flag on clothes and costumes has historically been controversial, with some speculating that it might even be illegal.
The American Legion, a leading authority on U.S. flag etiquette, respect, and education, explains that it’s permissible to wear items of clothing that look like the United States flag. However, such clothing can’t be made from an actual flag.
After all, the flag is a powerful symbol of our country’s democracy. Therefore, observe the following rules:
Improperly displaying the American flag on a shirt is a violation of the United States Flag Code. While there are no penalties for such violations, since this code isn’t enforceable by law, it’s still important to show respect for the flag and honor its symbolism and significance.
Here are some instances of improper flag display on shirts:
Whether you’re custom printing shirts for official or unofficial purposes, it’s unacceptable to distort the American flag design. Avoid engaging in any of the following practices:
When it comes to creating custom-printed American flag shirts, it’s important to ensure that the flag is treated with the utmost respect. Some disrespectful uses of the flag when creating custom shirts include:
Excited by the prospect of working with experienced designers and custom printers who’ll get it right when creating high-quality branded merchandise?
Reach out to fancysweetstx to alleviate any anxiety about breaking any American flag on shirt rules, guidelines, or specifications.
You can even tour the fancysweetstx store and production facility to get a glimpse of our scale and tech, and how we work.
We’re tried and tested, as Christina assures:
Used for company t-shirts. Excellent price, quality, design team, and quick shipping. First time customers, but we'll be back! Thank you, fancysweetstx.
- Christina P.
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]]>Surprisingly, it's not as easy as it seems.
I'm going to walk you through why using American made shirts is important, who we see order American made shirts most frequently, and the five most popular shirts we use for wholesale orders.
So if you're looking to place an order for your business and use shirts that are proudly made in the USA, this guide is for you. (And if you want us to help with that order, you can get in touch with us here.)
Utilizing American made manufacturers is quickly becoming more and more important.
In fact, there is a major groundswell of support all over the country to use, promote, and prioritize American made products of all types.
This can be anything from cars to appliances to electronics to food to consumer products and, of course, to clothing.
There are many reasons people want to source products made in the USA.
It's no secret that Americans are proud of their country. Supporting domestic manufacturing is an opportunity to show that pride.
For many people, it's a badge of honor when a product is proudly adorned with a 'Made in USA' label.
This pride stems from the fact that American manufacturers provide good paying, ethical jobs that build local communities.
Made in the USA is a symbol of quality.
As manufacturing left the US and moved overseas, low cost was prioritized over product quality and quality of life.
So while you may need to pay a little bit more for an American made shirt, it is made to higher standards and there is extra value because it is creating American made jobs.
The demand for American made shirts has steadily increased in recent years.
We see brands and businesses of all types ask for help choosing the best American made shirt option.
The requests for shirts made in the USA are made by companies that manufacture domestically, have union labor, and value quality, environmental sustainability, and ethical manufacturing.
One example is a local Jesuit high school. They have an ethics policy that requires they source their products from Fair Trade or American made sources. As a result, many of the shirts we print for them are one of the brands listed below.
Another common example is local construction companies. We print a lot of safety apparel for local contractors and subcontractors.
Not only do we see a lot of American made shirts being used in this industry, but it's also common to print the American flag on their shirts. With the practice of putting Old Glory on the sleeve, we feel strongly that the shirt should definitely be made in the USA.
We love to promote American made shirts and can offer them to anyone for any reason.
Without further ado, here are our favorite and, in our opinion, the best American made shirts on the market for brands and businesses.
Bayside is the largest apparel manufacturer in the USA.
For many screen printers that got their start after NAFTA, they are considered the original American made shirt.
Because for a while, there just weren't many out there and Bayside provided the best options.
While Bayside is mostly known for making a heavyweight shirt, they make all varieties and types - 100% cotton, blends, ringspun cotton, long sleeve.
In addition to making all clothing in the USA, they even have a line of Union Made shirts. It doesn't get any more appealing than a union made shirt for union contractors, subcontractors, and manufacturers.
We use Bayside apparel for wholesale shirt orders for businesses that want to support American and ethical manufacturing.
Los Angeles Apparel is the originator of the American and ethically made fashion shirt. Their first iteration however, was branded American Apparel.
When business for American Apparel took a downturn and ownership changed hands, their founder picked up where he left off with LA Apparel.
Arguably, he still makes the finest and highest quality American made clothing.
While their original niche was in soft, fashion fit t-shirts (our faves are the TR01 and FF01), LA Apparel has evolved with recent trends and now is known just as much for their thicker, garment dyed shirts.
If you're going for a look that emulates vintage garment dyed long sleeve and pocket tees from your favorite vacations, check out their ever expanding line of high quality garment dyed clothing.
As always, LA Apparel is proud to be made in America, ethical and sweatshop free manufacturing.
Royal Apparel stands out as an American apparel manufacturer with a commitment to the environment.
Known for soft shirts and fleece, Royal Apparel stands out with a full line of blank organic clothing. If you're not in the wholesale apparel industry, it might come as a surprise that this is very rare.
In addition to using organic cotton, they also have shirts made of other eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, hemp, and recycled plastic.
Environmentally sustainability goes hand in hand with American manufacturing.
One of the greatest appeals to domestic manufacturing is its reduced carbon footprint. Once the product is made, it doesn't need to be transported as far.
For Royal Apparel, their commitment to going green and manufacturing in the USA makes them stand out.
We've always been a fan of their triblend tees. In fact, some of the very first shirts we used for our retail brand were the 20051.
Next Level Apparel is our most commonly used shirt brand for bulk wholesale orders.
They make great, consistent shirts that our customers love and we love to print on. They have a wide range of colors and deep inventory.
While most of their shirts are not made domestically, they are expanding their line of USA made clothing. This is great for our customers who have used Next Level in the past but want to make the change to support American made.
The key indicator to identify a Next Level shirt as made in America is if it has an 'A' at the end of it's product number. For example, the 6010A is their triblend American made shirt.
We're excited that Next Level now has American made shirts.
American Apparel, which was started by the founder of LA Apparel, was a major force in re-popularizing American made apparel.
Coincidentally, they no longer makes all of their shirts in America. That's what happens when the largest shirt manufacturer in the world buys you out of bankruptcy.
While American Apparel isn't the same as the originally were, they haven't completely abandoned their American roots and ethical manufacturing.
If you want a soft American made shirt, they're still a great option.
The important thing is that if you are placing a wholesale order for American Apparel shirts, only the shirts labeled with USA are made domestically.
I can't predict if American Apparel will continue to make shirts in America in the future, but for now they still do and it's a great shirt.
We put this list together of our favorite blank American made t-shirts to help our customers that want to support US manufacturing.
There are a lot of options out there and it's tough to wade through all of the options.
Sometimes finding American made options can be like finding a needle in a haystack. We hope this article helps you when making a decision on which shirt to use for your brand or business.
Of course, we can help design, source, and print your next order of shirts. Click the button below to get started!
]]>Your favorite holiday tank is back! In this tank, you can celebrate your city and your country at the same time! Our 4th of July festive tank top will only be available for a limited time. They are available in our store and on our website. Grab one and show everyone your 16153 Genova and American pride!
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