Contract Upholstery Fabrics and Foam: Rub Counts, Flammability and COM Specified by Market

A contract upholstery specification is only as exact as its fabric and foam lines. Two quotations for the same chair can differ in the covering reference, the abrasion figure and the test behind it, the foam description and the flammability evidence, and each difference changes what you are buying. This page sets out what to record for contract upholstery fabrics and foam before you request quotes from China, how to handle COM, and which destination rules to name.

FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Send the schedule, the covering and foam requirements and the destination, so we can compare the same specification line by line.

Product scope

• Woven, knitted and velvet upholstery fabrics for contract seating
• Leather and coated coverings, and COM or COL, the customer’s own fabric or leather supplied for upholstery
• Foam and padding for seats, backs and arms, with any wrap or barrier layer the specification names
• Coverings and foam for sofas, lounge and dining chairs, booths and banquettes, headboards and benches

The covering and the foam are specified here; the frames come from other production lines. For the products that carry them, see our pages on commercial sofas and upholstered lounge chairs, restaurant booth seating and banquettes and contract seating and upholstery, and the contract materials and finishes overview.

What to specify before requesting quotes

Schedule field	What to record
Item code and covering code	One covering code for each item code. If one chair comes in two fabrics, give it two codes or a finish matrix that maps each fabric to a room and a quantity.
Covering type	Woven fabric, velvet, leather, coated covering or other, as the specification names it.
Reference	For a named material, the supplier, collection, pattern, colour code and the swatch that approves it. A photograph alone is not a reference.
Width, repeat and direction	Usable width, pattern repeat and the direction the pattern runs on the seat, so that every maker cuts the same way.
Abrasion	The test method the specification uses, the figure it requires and the unit, written as the specification writes them, with the test report for the exact fabric offered.
Flammability evidence	The destination, the rule the specification cites and the evidence it asks for, stated for the covering and the foam together as a built seat.
Foam and padding	The foam type, the figures the specification gives for it with the test method behind each, the thickness of seat and back, and any wrap or barrier layer.
Construction	Seams, piping or welts, how the cover is fixed, and whether covers are removable where the specification asks for it.
Backing, treatment and cleaning	Backing, any stain or water treatment, and the cleaning method the operator will use.
Pattern matching and waste	Whether the pattern is matched across seams. The quantity has to allow for pattern matching, cutting and waste.
COM	Which items use COM, who delivers it to the factory, the defects allowance and the roll lengths.
Packing	How covered items are protected and marked by outlet, and whether spare covers or yardage ship with the order.

The table is a checklist. Add a line for anything your project needs that is not listed, such as a branded label or a particular cleaning code.

Abrasion figures: compare on the same method

An abrasion figure, which buyers also call a rub count, is the result of a test, and a result only means something next to the method and the unit it came from. Two fabrics quoted with figures from different methods have not been compared. Name the method and the number your project requires, ask each mill for the report for the exact fabric and colourway offered, and keep the report with the approved swatch. We do not set a threshold here: the designer, the operator or the specifier decides what the venue needs, and the mill answers for the fabric it offers.

Foam and what sits under the cover

The covering is one part of the seat. A fabric approved for one chair does not automatically cover another chair with a different foam, seam or fire route, so the foam is written into the specification beside the covering. Ask each maker to describe the seat and back foam for each item code, to say how the foam is held and covered, and to state any wrap or barrier layer. Compare quotations on the whole build, not on the cover alone, and approve the covering on a finished sample that shows the real foam, seam and frame. For the supply-route view of these choices, see FBM Sourcing’s guides to upholstery foam for contract seating and fabric or vinyl upholstery for commercial seating.

COM: supplying your own fabric

COM means customer’s own material: fabric or another covering supplied or nominated by the project. COL is the shorthand for leather. Tell us at quotation stage which items use COM and send the material specification. The upholstery maker needs the usable width, pattern repeat and direction, roll lengths, backing, defects policy and any performance evidence required, and the quantity has to allow for pattern matching, cutting and waste. COM does not remove the need for a production sample: the exact material you supply is checked on the intended foam, seam and frame construction before bulk production. Our articles on fabric and finish selections on a hospitality furniture order and the contract furniture sourcing glossary set out the terms and the workflow.

Rules to name in the specification

The rules that apply to upholstered seating depend on the destination, the venue and the materials. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact build offered. The provisions below were read from the published text on the dates shown; your specifier or adviser decides what applies to your project.

• United States, upholstered furniture flammability: 16 CFR Part 1640 sets the standard for the flammability of upholstered furniture by reference to California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (§ 1640.1), effective 25 June 2021, with the labelling requirement applying from 25 June 2022 (§ 1640.2). Each manufacturer of a product that is subject to the California standard must include the statement “Complies with U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability” on a permanent label (§ 1640.4(b)). Upholstered furniture is defined in § 1640.3(e) as an article of seating furniture that, among other conditions, is intended for indoor use and is constructed with an upholstered seat, back or arm; the definition does not include a mattress, a foundation or a bedding product. We read the part in the eCFR, current as of 16 October 2026, on 20 October 2026.
• California, flame-retardant chemicals: section 19094 of the Business and Professions Code identifies the components of upholstered furniture, as identified in Technical Bulletin 117-2013, as cover fabrics, barrier materials, resilient filling materials and decking materials, and requires the manufacturer of covered products to state on the label whether the upholstery materials contain added flame-retardant chemicals. Section 19101 provides that, on or after 1 January 2020, a person shall not sell or distribute in commerce in California new upholstered furniture that contains, or a constituent component of which contains, covered flame retardant chemicals at levels above 1,000 parts per million, subject to the exceptions in the section.
• California, textile fiberglass from 2027: section 19101.5 provides that, on and after 1 January 2027, a person shall not manufacture, sell, offer or distribute in commerce in California new upholstered furniture that contains, or a constituent component of which contains, textile fiberglass. The section defines textile fiberglass as textile yarns whose composition includes one or more continuous glass filaments in a form suitable for knitting, weaving or otherwise intertwining to form a textile fabric, and lists exclusions. We read these sections in the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Rules and Regulations, 2026 Edition published by California’s Bureau of Household Goods and Services, on 20 October 2026.
• California, public occupancies: the same law book names Technical Bulletin 133, “Flammability Test Procedure for Seating Furniture for Use in Public Occupancies”, where it excludes products required to meet that bulletin from the definitions of juvenile products and of reupholstered furniture. We do not set out when Technical Bulletin 133 applies to a seat; your specifier or the authority for the venue decides.
• Australia and New Zealand: see our article on care labels on upholstered contract seating and mattresses sold in Australia and our Australia and New Zealand compliance page.
• United Kingdom and European Union: see our UK and EU compliance page and FBM Sourcing’s guide to UK fire rules for upholstered furniture.

Our United States compliance page explains how we approach the main US rules for furniture, and FBM Sourcing’s guide to the federal label under 16 CFR 1640 covers the label in more detail.

Samples, approval and acceptance on delivery

Approve the covering on a finished sample that shows the real foam, seam and frame, not on a swatch alone, and record the approval in writing against the item code. Keep an approved swatch and a finished seat with the order as the reference for repeat orders. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the sequence. Any substitution of a covering or a foam is raised by item code and returned for approval before it replaces the approved reference. When bulk production is complete, our own team performs one inspection before shipment, checking quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video. Your team is welcome to attend. On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order and note any difference in writing, with photographs, on the day.

What to request from the factory

• The covering reference for each item code, with the supplier, collection, colour code and the approved swatch.
• The abrasion test report for the exact fabric offered, naming the method and the unit.
• A description of the foam and padding for each seat and back, with the figures the specification asks for and the test method behind each.
• A finished sample of each upholstered type on its real foam, seams and frame.
• The evidence the specification asks for, issued for the build offered and the destination named, and a statement on any glass-filament yarn in the covering or barrier where the destination asks.
• For COM, the factory’s confirmation of the width, repeat, direction and quantity it has allowed, and a statement of any proposed substitution for approval before production.

Send the schedule, covering and foam requirements, and the destination together. FBM Furniture is the furniture-focused team of FBM Sourcing, which manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects.

Frequently asked questions

What should a contract fabric and foam specification include?

Record, for each item code, the covering type, supplier, collection and colour code, the usable width, repeat and direction, the abrasion test method with the figure required and its unit, the flammability evidence the destination calls for, the foam description with the figures the specification gives and the test method behind them, the seams and the way the cover is fixed, and whether the covering is supplied by you as COM.

Can abrasion figures from different fabrics be compared?

Only when they come from the same test method and are stated in the same unit. Ask each mill for the test report for the exact fabric offered, and do not set a figure from one method beside a figure from another.

Can we supply our own fabric?

Yes. Tell us at quotation stage which items use COM, customer’s own material, and send the material specification: usable width, pattern repeat and direction, roll lengths, backing, defects policy and any performance evidence required. COM does not remove the need for a production sample: the supplied material is checked on the intended foam, seam and frame construction before bulk production.

Does the US upholstered furniture rule apply to contract seating?

The definition in 16 CFR 1640.3(e) covers an article of seating furniture that, among other conditions, is intended for indoor use and is constructed with an upholstered seat, back or arm. It does not include a mattress, a foundation or a bedding product. Whether a given seat meets every condition is a question for your adviser.

What does California section 19101.5 say about textile fiberglass?

Section 19101.5 of the California Business and Professions Code provides that, on and after 1 January 2027, a person shall not manufacture, sell, offer or distribute in commerce in California any new upholstered furniture that contains, or a constituent component of which contains, textile fiberglass. The section defines the term and lists exclusions. Ask each mill whether any covering, barrier or other component contains glass-filament yarn; whether the section applies to your product is a question for your adviser.

How does FBM Furniture charge for contract upholstery?

For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.