On the nation’s 250th anniversary, let’s celebrate American flags: They are still mostly made in the United States.
And one of the largest flag-making operations is in Miami, operated by Goodwill South Florida, which employs more than 900 people to cut and sew each Stars and Stripes and make sure every single one is made with attention and precision.
These flags are flown on government buildings, draped on the coffins of fallen soldiers, and presented to veterans and military families. They are also available for purchase by the general public.
Although so many garments today are manufactured abroad, the Flag Manufacturers Association of America reports that most U.S. flags, about 94%, are made domestically. Some branches of the federal government require 100% U.S. manufacturing for their flags, such as the Department of Defense, one of the agencies that orders flags and military uniforms from Goodwill.
The Miami garment center, at Goodwill’s headquarters in the Allapattah neighborhood, produces 500 American flags each day. The workers also make state flags, including Florida’s, and 12 types of military apparel, such as pants, shirts, coats and hats, for the Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army.
Each worker has a station and is assigned a part of the 100% U.S.-grown cotton flag to stitch. Some sew sections of the flag’s body together to form the 13 stripes; others attach their blue squares with white stars to the red and white bands.
Hallandale Beach resident Iris Perez, 67, a seamstress who works on the flags’ stars section, said she gets a special thrill every time she sees an American flag on the street.
“I wonder if that was a flag I made,” said Perez, who has worked at Goodwill for 19 years. “I feel so much pride. I feel like I’m honoring our heroes.”
Iris Perez, of Hallandale Beach, flips over a panel of stars for a U.S. flag at Goodwill South Florida in Miami. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A look inside the manufacturing hub
Goodwill South Florida created its flag manufacturing division in 1994, as part of its efforts to expand job opportunities in the world of fabrics. Many consumers are most familiar with Goodwill for Its secondhand stores, which sell used attire and household items; these have surged in popularity as Americans look to save money.
In recent years, the South Florida division, which has 35 stores and 56 donation centers, has expanded into cruise mattress recycling, janitorial and landscaping contracts, laundry processing and selling recycled items online.
In its flag division, new manufacturing deals are constantly coming in. The nonprofit got a five-year contract in March, worth about $103 million, to produce uniforms for the Army, Air Force and U.S. Space Force, as well as another five-year contract in April to make women’s combat uniform pants.
Such contracts are keeping 960 disabled people employed, according to Goodwill South Florida’s 2025 annual report. About 70% of the workers have disabilities, including autism, blindness or developmental impairments.
The workers sew, trim, fold and package on two massive floors in Goodwill’s Miami headquarters, filled with sewing machines, conveyor belts and industrial fabric cutters. The flags come in five sizes; it takes about 32 minutes to make the largest size and one hour for each uniform item.
Benite Augustin, of Miramar, sews U.S. Air Force dress slacks at the Goodwill South Florida headquarters in Miami on Tuesday, June 30 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami resident Jorge Proenza, 73, is blind but works as an industrial sewing technician in the center’s interment flags section. These flags measure 5 feet by 9.5 feet, large enough to fully cover a soldier’s casket.
Goodwill South Florida is authorized through AbilityOne, a federal program that provides jobs for the blind and others with significant impairments, to manufacture official interment flags for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Proenza had partial vision in one of his eyes when he started at Goodwill in 2005, but has now lost all his sight. He is able to trim the flags with a cutting tool and fold them, relying on his memory and his remaining senses.
“I use the sense of touch to know where each flag is located,” said Proenza, through a Spanish translator. “I know how to do the other stations, too.”
Perdita Cayasso, the stitchery’s flag supervisor, said she has absorbed many life lessons by watching employees develop their sewing proficiency.
“Working with people with disabilities, I see the world differently,” said Cayasso, who has been at Goodwill for nine years. “You learn through them, their abilities, their skills, how they adapt. And most special of all to me, they all take care of each other.”
Combat uniform trousers are stacked on a shelf at Goodwill South Florida headquarters in Miami. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)