American Textile Manufacturers Institute

The American Textile Manufacturers Institute was the national trade association for the U.S. textile industry from 1949 to 2004, maintaining offices in New York, Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C. (its headquarters). Most of its membership was drawn from the South. Its major concerns included environmental preservation, safety and health, education, the economy and international trade, taxes, and public relations in all of the fiber sectors: cotton, wool and man-made fibers. The organization dissolved in March 2004, replaced by the National Council of Textile Organizations, based in Washington, D.C. and Gastonia, N.C. ATMI is descended from the Southern Cotton Spinners Association incorporated in 1897 in North Carolina. SCSA changed its name to the American Cotton Manufacturers Association in 1903 and incorporated in 1905. The Cotton-Textile Institute, a northern-based association, was organized in 1926 and incorporated in New York the same year. It merged with the American Cotton Manufacturers Association in 1949 to form the American Cotton Manufacturers Institute, Inc. The National Federation of Textiles, formed in 1934, and the successor to the Silk Association, which was organized in 1872, merged with ACMI in 1958. NFT brought in the man-made fiber and silk industries. In 1962, ACMI's name was changed to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. In 1964, the Association of Cotton Textile Merchants of New York, which had been organized in 1918, was consolidated with ATMI. The National Association of Finishers of Textile Fabrics, organized in 1898 but left unstaffed until 1914, was consolidated with ATMI in 1965. The National Association of Wool Manufacturers, formed in 1864, merged with ATMI in 1971, and the Thread Institute merged with ATMI in 1989.

From the description of [Association records.] 1873-1986. (American Textile History Museum Library). WorldCat record id: 636568866