American Textile Manufacturers Institute Photographs

The American Textile Manufacturers Institute was the national trade association for the U.S. textile industry from 1949 to 2004. It maintained offices in New York, Charlotte, NC 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).

Faced with the industry's shrinking role in the U.S. economy, the organization dissolved in March 2004. It was replaced by a new organization, the National Council of Textile Organizations, based in Washington D.C. and Gastonia, NC. Representing all of the industry but with a focus on the yarn industry, NCTO members are drawn largely from the South while the National Textile Organization (formerly the Northern Textile Association) based in Boston, represents largely, but not exclusively, northern manufacturers engaged in the fabric industry (weaving, knitting, finishing).

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, May 3, 1903, and was incorporated on March 8, 1905.

The Cotton-Textile Institute, a northern-based association, was organized October 4, 1926 and incorporated in New York in the same year. It merged with the American Cotton Manufacturers Association in 1949 to form the American Cotton Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (ACMI).

On April 30, 1958, the National Federation of Textiles formed in 1934, and the successor to The Silk Association which had been organized in 1872, merged with ACMI. NFT brought in the man-made fiber and silk industries.

On October 1, 1962, ACMI's name was changed to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (ATMI).

On January 17, 1964, the Association of Cotton Textile Merchants of New York which had been organized on January 17, 1918 was consolidated with ATMI.

The National Association of Finishers of Textile Fabrics which originated January 12, 1898, but was not staffed until January 6, 1914, was consolidated with ATMI on May 20, 1965.

The National Association of Wool Manufacturers, formed in November 30, 1864, merged with ATMI on July 1, 1971 and The Thread Institute merged with ATMI in 1989.