International Textile and Garment Workers' Federation

The International Textile and Garment Workers' Federation (ITGWF) was a global union federation of unions representing workers involved in manufacturing clothing and other textiles.

The federation was established on 17 June 1960 at conference in Copenhagen, when the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations (IFTWA) merged with the International Garment Workers' Federation (IGWF).^[1]

The federation was led by general secretary Jack Greenhalgh, formerly leader of the IFTWA, president John Newton, formerly leader of the IGWF, and vice-president Alphonse Baeyens.^[2]

On 5 June 1970, at a conference in Folkestone in England, the federation merged with the International Shoe and Leather Workers' Federation to form the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation.^[1]

Affiliates

In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:^[3]

Union	Country	Affiliated membership
Alliance of Textile Workers' Unions	South Korea	37,479
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America	United States	376,000
Amalgamated Felt Hat Trimmers, Woolformers and Allied Workers Union	United Kingdom	2,073
Clothing and Hat Federation	France	Unknown
Danish Clothing Workers' Union	Denmark	19,131
Danish Textile Workers' Union	Denmark	19,355
Federation of Textile Workers of Greece	Greece	40,000
Federation of Textile Workers of Peru	Peru	25,000
Garment Workers' Industrial Union	South Africa	5,000
Garment Workers' Union of the Cape Peninsula	South Africa	14,500
General Industrial Union of Textiles and Clothing	Netherlands	17,332
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union	United States	442,901
United Italian Federation of Clothing Workers	Italy	55,186
Italian Federation of Textile Workers	Italy	120,000
Italian Union of Textile Workers	Italy	20,000
Japan Federation of Textile Workers' Unions	Japan	320,000
National Federation of Textile and Needle Industry Trades	Cuba	23,000
National Federation of Textiles	France	18,000
National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers	United Kingdom	68,596
National Union of Hosiery Workers	United Kingdom	40,660
National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers	United Kingdom	120,998
National Union of Textile Workers	Colombia	20,000
National Union of Textile Workers	Israel	13,000
Norwegian Union of Clothing Workers	Norway	14,409
Norwegian Union of Textile Workers	Norway	9,741
Pakistan Textile Workers' Federation	Pakistan	20,000
Swedish Clothing Workers' Union	Sweden	37,164
Swedish Textile Workers' Union	Sweden	37,588
Swiss Clothing, Leather and Equipment Workers' Union	Switzerland	3,360
Tailors, Tents, Sailmakers and Garment Workers' Union	Kenya	549
Textile and Clothing Union	West Germany	354,118
Textile and Knitting Workers' Union	Finland	5,000
Textile Workers Union of America	United States	197,200
Union of Belgian Textile Workers	Belgium	65,190
Union of Clothing Workers	Finland	3,103
Union of Clothing Workers and Kindred Trades in Belgium	Belgium	9,500
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers	United Kingdom	15,000
Union of Textile, Clothing and Leather Workers	Austria	69,000
Union of Textile and Factory Workers	Switzerland	12,000
United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union	United States	40,000
United Textile Factory Workers' Association	United Kingdom	172,770