What is ACT?
ACT is the acronym for Association for Contract Textiles, which is a not-for-profit trade organization made up primarily of the companies that supply fabric to the contract interior design community. These companies are called fabric wholesalers.
What is a COM?
A “COM” is any fabric chosen by a designer/specifier from a source outside the furniture manufacturer (usually a fabric wholesaler) and is the acronym for “customer’s own material” (fabric). Furniture manufacturers offer limited choices of fabric to be used on their furniture and many designers prefer to select from the far broader choices that are offered by fabric companies. Selecting COM upholstery fabric on furniture provides designers an opportunity to marry beauty, creativity and choice in their interiors.
What are the ACT Voluntary Textile Performance Guidelines?
In order to make fabric specification easier, ACT member companies adopted a body of popular tests that measure important performance criteria for fabrics in the contract interiors market. The results of these specific tests are represented by graphic symbols, which are used on ACT-member companies’ fabric samples to indicate that the specific fabric performs to contract standards for its recommended application. The Guidelines are a selection of the numerous tests for fabric performance that have been established (and are periodically reviewed) by standards organizations, such as ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials: www.astm.org) and AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorist: www.aatcc.org).
What does ACT stand for?
Association for Contract Textiles.
