History of the Color Association Before 1915, it was the milliners, the US hat makers, who were responsible for setting color trends for the US textiles industry. Their judgments were based on the dyestuffs they got from Germany and fashion information received from Paris. After World War I cut off the means for continuing the milliners' seasonal fashion color forecasts. the wool and silk companies, who were particularly dependent on this data to market their clothing, decided to act on their own. As a result, a committee representing the textile and allied industries, including silk, wool, thread, button, and garment manufacturers, was selected to choose colors for the following season, have them dyed and issued in the form of an American color card. The proposition to prepare a color card resulted in the formation in early 1915 of the Textile Color Card Association of the United States (TCCA), the Color Association's predecessor. The first meeting of the TCCA Board of Directors was held on February 19, 1915 at the office of the Silk Association of America in New York City. The functions of the TCCA were: 1) to issue color forecasts in the form of cards twice a year; 2) to give directions in color trends to the market; 3) to enable different segments of the market to coordinate their products by offering the formulas for the production of each forecasted color; 4) to buy products worldwide knowing they would coordinate at the point of sale; 5) to serve as an information center for all kinds of color information. The TCCA established its headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York City, and 117 members joined the first year. TCCA assumed the obligation of standardizing a list of "staple colors" for the purpose of having the shade of color the same in every American industry. The idea behind standardization was to promote color coordination among the various trades. The first standard color card of TCCA was issued May 21, 1915, with 110 colors; this first edition was limited to 5,000 cards. The TCCA standard color cards were later published under the title Standard Color Reference of America. It presented (and still presents) colors for which there has been a popular and continuing demand. Starting in 1926 government and industries ordered color from this reference book by a system of numbers and code words. This color reference is now in its tenth edition, and includes color standards based on nature, e.g. Apricot 80037 or Beaver 80190, government requirements, e.g. Light Olive Drab 80089, college colors like Princeton Orange 80070 and fashion shades e.g. Schiaparelli Pink 80049. Beginning in the late 1920s, the TCCA developed a close association with the US Government and Armed Forces as it standardized colors according to government specifications, dealing specifically with the Office of the Quartermaster General of the War Department. The Association developed standard colors for the Armed Forces that were used in uniforms, ribbons, decorations, and flags. Standard uniform colors include Khaki, Light Olive Drab, West Point Grey, and Marine Corp. (blue). Colors for the flags of the United Nations and the United States were also standardized by TCCA. The standard colors for the US flag, for example, are Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue in CAUS' standard publication. After World War II, members from foreign countries started to join TCCA in increasing numbers. By the late 1940s, members from the following countries were amongst the Association's ranks: Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Egypt, Palestine, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Argentina, and Uruguay. During the 1940s, segmented markets that had strong commercial interests tended to sponsor special forecasts for their industries and to issue special cards in cooperation with the TCCA. The first trades to take on such an active color role in the US were hosiery, women's gloves, shoe leather, and men's felt hats. In 1952, TCCA issued the first Upholstery and Drapery Fabric Color Card. This card and subsequent ones were issued in cooperation with Decorative Fabrics Institute, Inc. It was not until 1969 that a forecast was issued for the entire home furnishings industry. This card showed the forecasted colors in both yarns and on silk-screened papers. (In 1982, the home furnishings forecast was renamed the Total Environmental Forecast for Home/Interiors, etc. An annual interior/environmental forecast continues to be issued by CAUS under the name of Interior Colors Forecast and constitutes the largest area of present CAUS members.) At the December 1, 1955 Board of Directors' meeting, the name of the organization was officially changed to The Color Association of the United States (CAUS). The name was changed because the TCCA's focus had changed. From 1915 until WWII, TCCA had primarily served the textile and related women's fashion trades, especially hats and hosiery. After 1945, color began gaining importance in other segments of industry such as synthetic fibers, home furnishings, floor coverings, wallpaper, household appliances, paints, plastics, automobiles, motion pictures, television, and radio. A special men's fashion forecast was issued in the 1960s. The Association has continued to issue a seasonal color forecast specifically geared toward the men's clothing and allied industries. Because of the tremendous growth in clothes and accessories geared especially to children in the American markets of the 1980s, the Association formed a children's color forecasting panel and issued the first forecast for American children's industries in 1985. This seasonal forecast continues today and is an excellent contemporary source of bright and pastel colors for athletic and accessory industries as well as children's wear. Download the History of Color Association in pdf