Men having abandoned male faults, accepting good standards (7)
I believe the answer is:
ensigns
'standards' is the definition.
(flags)
'men having abandoned male faults accepting good' is the wordplay.
'having abandoned' is a deletion indicator.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'faults' becomes 'sins'.
'accepting' indicates putting letters inside.
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'men' with 'm' taken away is 'en'.
'sins' going around 'g' is 'signs'.
'en'+'signs'='ENSIGNS'
(Other definitions for ensigns that I've seen before include "officers? Of lower rank" , "hauled up on deck?" , "US naval officers" , "Flag" , "Flags for naval officers" .)