Some guy somewhere on the internet made what seems to be a pretty good point. An almost-flag or flag-like-thing, such as a patch or a towel, is NOT a "Flag" as defined by law (somewhere).

You could sell and make some bucks on faux-flags for burning, e.g., with one star out of place.

It really has to be that way, I would think, or you could never remove your flag bumper sticker?