Manufacturers stop making Confederate flags

Walmart CEO: No more Confederate flags
Walmart CEO: No more Confederate flags

Flag makers are bailing on the Confederate flag.

Valley Forge Flag, a 133-year-old manufacturer in Wayne, Penn., will no longer produce the Confederate flag. Reggie Vanden Bosch, vice president of sales, said his company will no longer manufacture it in light of the controversy in South Carolina.

Another company, Elder Flag Manufacturing Company of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, also said it would no longer sell or manufacture the Rebel flag. Chief Operating Officer said the business was shunning the flag because of "the recent events in Charleston, S.C., and motivating factors behind those events."

This follows similar movies by major retailers WalMart (WMT), Sears (SHLD), eBay (EBAY) and Amazon (AMZN), which all said they're going to stop selling the Confederate flag.

Valley Forge Flag, which started as a maker of burlap bags in 1882, makes hundreds of flags from different countries and states, as well as historical flags like the "Don't tread on me" rattlesnake banner from the Revolutionary War.

Vanden Bosch told CNNMoney earlier this week that the flag making industry doesn't like to get involved in the politics of various flags.

"Generally speaking, as an industry, the stance has been we are not making patriotic statements or unpatriotic statements," said Vanden Bosch, who is also president of Flag Manufacturers Association of America.

But added, "We don't want to cause someone continued pain because of what it represents."

confederate south carolina
Valley Forge Flag says it will stop making the Confederate flag, which still flies in front of the South Carolina state capitol.

The controversy rekindled after June 17, when Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, killed nine African-Americans, including a state senator, in a historic black church in Charleston. Roof posted social media images of himself brandishing the Confederate flag. On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the Confederate flag should be removed from the grounds of the state Capitol, which requires approval of the state legislature.

Related: Rebel merch is flying off the shelves

Valley Forge isn't the only U.S. flag manufacturer, and there are plenty of Chinese manufacturers that make the Confederate flags. On its web site, the Chinese manufacturer Totem Flags displays pictures of the Rebel flag at its Shanghai factory.

Ron Hammon, owner of the online retailer Proud Rebel in northern Alabama and who sells flags bearing the slogan "Heritage not hate," said demand has soared and he will continue to sell them.

Personal Finance

CNNMoney Sponsors