So he filed a bill ahead of the 2025 legislative session requiring all United States and South Carolina flags bought by cities, counties, public schools and state agencies going forward to be 100% made in the United States. They must be completely manufactured in the U.S. with materials and supplies produced in the U.S.
After both chambers passed the bill unanimously, Gov. Henry McMaster signed it into law this week.
The Flag Manufacturers Association of America, of which David McGehee is a member, wrote an open letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stating that more than 100,000 U.S. flags sold on the online platform each month are imported and falsely marketed as American-made, a violation of federal textile law.
“This is over $1.5 million of monthly sales of U.S. flags being sold that are not labeled with country of origin per the Textile Act,” the letter continues.
“Not only is it an ethical problem,” McGehee told the SC Daily Gazette. “It’s also a problem of quality.”
“You pull them out of the package from Amazon, they look great,” he added. “When they pay somebody in China 10 cents an hour to sew, the sewing quality is not there. So, they’re not going to last as long.”
Plus, it has an impact on U.S. and South Carolina workers, McGehee said.
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