Membership of the Scottish Tartans Authority is made up of organisations involved in the tartan and Highland-wear industry, such as weavers and retailers, as well as members of the public, with an interest in Scottish history and heritage. The Scottish Tartans Authority is a registered charity in Scotland and the only non governmental organisation dedicated to preserving, promoting and protecting tartan, but they no longer act as a registry. Their large International Tartan Index ("ITI") database of over 7,000 tartans (which already subsumed databases from STS and IATS-TECA) was merged into that of the Scottish government's official Scottish Register of Tartans in early 2009.