The goal is to encourage brands to achieve a higher use of recycled materials (at least 20%, although some exceptions may apply) in their products while setting additional social, environmental, and chemical requirements.

Even though the GRS is owned by Textile Exchange, it is not limited to just textiles and can include any kind of product that contains recycled materials.

The Global Recycled Standard was originally developed by Control Union Certifications and is now owned by Textile Exchange since 2011. Moreover, it is important to understand that this standard is not intended to replace any legal or regulatory requirements of any country but rather serves as an extra certification for products containing recycled materials. The Standard applies to products that contain 20% or more Recycled Content, however, only products with at least 50% recycled content qualify for product-specific GRS labeling.

Not only a product can opt for certification, but entities involved in Material Recycling can too. These entities need to comply with a series of requirements such as verifying that all sources of reclaimed material have legal authorisation to operate while holding copies of relevant documents, records, and agreements. This material shall also be inspected to make sure it is indeed recycled and not a virgin material.

As mentioned before, the GRS also focuses on social, environmental, and chemical requirements, which will be explained below.

Social: Certified organisations must have a clear set of policies to guarantee compliance with the social requirements of the GRS. All work must be voluntary and without any threats or sanctions. Workers must be provided with healthy and safe conditions with fair wages and benefits. Moreover, bonded labour is prohibited, meaning that a company cannot incur any debt as security against a loan. Lastly, no indentured, child labour, nor discrimination, harassment, or abuse is permitted.

Environmental: These requirements apply to all operations within the Certified Organisation. These organisations must have an environmental management system (EMS) and a Chemical Management System (CMS) in place. The EMS shall have a manual that is used for training purposes and to remain up-to-date with applicable local legal requirements while having basic management controls where all the relevant environmental indicators are documented, measured, and tracked. On the other hand, the CMS will be used for training purposes and to monitor and meet all the relevant legal requirements related to chemical management.

These environmental requirements focus on energy and water usage, wastewater, emissions to air, and waste management. Organisations that want to qualify for this certification shall have all the relevant and up-to-date permits. For energy and water usage, measurement and record shall be taken on a monthly basis and annual targets must be set and met. For wastewater, there must be a drainage plan, and a proven system to ensure that the water is receiving proper treatment to meet the minimum local requirements. For emissions, there shall be regular maintenance of any equipment that could potentially pollute the air and must meet annual targets that are set for meaningful improvements. Lastly, for waste management, training must be provided to be able to handle and eliminate waste. Morever, burning or uncontrolled waste landfilling is prohibited and there must be a plan in place for procedures for these waste streams and ways to minimise them.

Chemical: The GRS does not apply to the facility as a whole, but only to the production of GRS products. It is also important that there are accurate lists of all the chemical inputs used in all products along with their Safety Data Sheet (SDS). The products must meet the Restricted Substances Lists (RSL’s) or any legal requirements in the country of sale.