International Clothing Workers' Federation
# International Clothing Workers' Federation

The International Clothing Workers' Federation (IGWF) was a global union federation representing workers involved in making and repairing clothes.

## History

The federation was established in 1893 at a conference in Zurich. The following year, it established headquarters in Berlin, moving to Amsterdam in 1920. It held conferences in different European locations every three to four years. In 1925, the International Furriers' Secretariat merged into the organisation, giving the organisation 29 affiliates with a total of 315,000 members.

The federation ceased to operate during World War II, but was re-established in 1946, based in London. In 1949, it was refounded as the International Garment Workers' Federation, which in 1960 merged with the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations to form the International Textile and Garment Workers' Federation.

## Affiliates

In 1954, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:

| Union | Country | Affiliated membership |
| - | - | - |
| Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America | United States | 282,212 |
| Clothing and Hat Federation | France | 5,000 |
| Danish Clothing Workers' Union | Denmark | 22,204 |
| Danish Hatters' and Furriers' Union | Denmark | Unknown |
| Felt Hatters', Trimmers' and Allied Workers' Unions | United Kingdom | 5,487 |
| General Industrial Union of Textiles and Clothing | Netherlands | 4,500 |
| International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union | United States | 368,000 |
| National Union of Hosiery Workers | United Kingdom | 40,539 |
| National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers | United Kingdom | 120,417 |
| Norwegian Union of Clothing Workers | Norway | 15,500 |
| Swedish Clothing Workers' Union | Sweden | 32,167 |
| Swiss Clothing, Leather and Equipment Workers' Union | Switzerland | 3,360 |
| Tailor, Tent, Sailmaker and Garment Workers' Union | Kenya | 1,250 |
| Textile and Clothing Union | West Germany | 75,000 |
| Union of Clothing Workers | Finland | 5,000 |
| 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 and Clothing Workers | Luxembourg | 333 |
| Union of Textile, Clothing and Leather Workers | Austria | 4,000 |
| United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union (UHCMW) | United States | 32,000 |
| United Italian Federation of Clothing Workers | Italy | 53,000 |

## Leadership

### General Secretaries

    1894: Clara Zetkin
    1900: Heinrich Stühmer
    1920: Tonnis van der Heeg
    1946: Andrew Conley
    1949: Ian Milner
    1956: John Newton

### Presidents

    1910s: William P. Arup
    1920: Martin Plettl
    1933: Josef Andersson
    as of 1957: Per Petterson
