ACWA Union Labels: History and How to Date Them

Last reviewed 2026-10-04 by the AntiqueCostume editorial team · Sources · How we research

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), founded in 1914, represented workers making men's suits, coats and shirts. The Vintage Fashion Guild has a dated series of its labels, so the ACWA label does for menswear what the ILGWU label does for women's clothing.

Company history

Our union labels guide, citing the Vintage Fashion Guild, records that the ACWA was founded in 1914 and issued its first label in 1916. It adopted new labels in 1934, after a failed 1933 attempt to use the United Garment Workers label, and in 1935 as it joined the CIO. In 1976 it merged into the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), which joined the ILGWU in 1995 to form UNITE.

Label timeline

Label or clue	Approximate dates	What it tells you
First ACWA label	1916	Earliest
Revised label	1919	Post-First World War
New label	1934	After the 1933 United Garment Workers attempt
New label as the ACWA joined the CIO	1935	Mid-1930s
New label; sepia-toned WWII military versions	1939	Wartime examples are sepia
1949 design without the registered mark (R in a circle)	1949 to 1962	Post-war to early 1960s
1949 design with the registered mark	1962 to 1976	1960s to mid-1970s
ACTWU label	1976 to 1995	After the merger

What it helps date

Check the registered mark with a magnifier: it splits the long-running 1949 design at 1962. See the vintage label lookup.
Women's clothing uses the ILGWU label instead.
Menswear eras: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s.

Sources

Guides that mention ACWA (Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America)

Dating Vintage Clothing by ILGWU and Other Union LabelsHow to date American garments by their ILGWU, ACWA, NRA and Consumers' Protection labels, with a period-by-period chart and where the dates disagree.

Vintage Label Lookup: Date Clothing by Label, RN and Union TagFree printable vintage label dating cheat sheet with union label versions, RN and WPL numbers, care and fiber law dates, ZIP codes and zipper clues.

ILGWU Union Labels: History and How to Date ThemDate American women's clothing by the ILGWU union label: AFL era before 1955, AFL-CIO from 1955, "union made" from 1963, red, white and blue 1974 to 1995.

Adrian Labels: History and How to Date ThemAdrian Original and Adrian Custom labels explained: Gilbert Adrian's move from MGM costume design to his own Beverly Hills house, and suit values.