2025.02.20
The Global Recycle Standard (GRS) for textile and apparel was originally formulated by the Dutch Regulatory Union and implemented in November 2008. It is a third-party certification standard established for the use of recycled fibers after the recycling of waste textiles. In January 2011, the Dutch Control Union transferred the copyright of the textile and apparel global recycling standards to the world's most influential US textile exchange.
GRS is formulated for the needs of the textile industry to check recycled products or certain specific products. More importantly, it is for retailers and consumers to understand which parts of a particular product are recycled materials and how to handle these materials in the supply chain.
The GRS verification system is based on integrity and includes five major requirements: Traceability, Environmental, Social, Label, and General.
2. 1 Traceability
If you want to apply for recycled textile verification services, you must comply with the principle of traceability. Regardless of internal recycling of waste or externally purchased raw materials, it must be checked by the provisions of cargo transportation, cargo source list, quality control and general management, and then systematically calculate the recycled and recycled fibers contained in the product. Percentage of recycled fiber.
(1) Cargo transportation
The raw materials that enter the GRS system or are transported between suppliers applying for GRS verification must not be mixed with foreign objects. The company applying for verification needs to provide cargo transportation documents (such as ocean bills of lading). The transportation documents need to include the source of the waste, the certified company, the name and address of the shipping company (or receiving company), the name and quantity (or volume) of the goods And other information.
(2) List of sources of goods
UC needs to review the list of sources of goods provided by the supplier to prove that the raw materials comply with the GRS. If the goods have passed the recycling (environmental protection) certification of a credible government or an independent third-party certification body, they can be exempted from audits. At present, the credible government agency refers to the Taiwanese governmental program on recycling (Greenmark) of the Environmental Development Foundation of Taiwan, China, and the independent third-party agency refers to the environmental certification of the US scientific certification system ( Scientific Certification Systems Recycled Content Certification, referred to as SCS Recycled), and certification of other institutions must first obtain the permission of UC.
(3) Quality control and general management
Companies applying for verification must ensure that UC auditors can track the sources, attributes, and quantities of all recycled fiber materials, products, internal wastes, etc., and must keep all records of the attributes, quantities, sources and quantities of products received and sent out. The destination (including the buyer's name, address, and delivery date) documents.
The verification company needs to provide a plan indicating the production process, hazards and production flow diagrams of recycled textiles, and establish and use a set of procedures that can track and verify the quality of all raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products before, during and after processing Guarantee system. Suppliers must always check the means of transporting goods to ensure that the means of transport are clean.
(4) Calculation of the percentage of recycled fiber
The percentage of recycled fiber is calculated by the system. To obtain GRS certification, at least 5% (volume or mass) of the raw materials of the product must be recycled fiber and be 100% pollution-free. The recycled fiber should also indicate the proportion of unused (Pre-consumer) or used by consumers (Post-Consumer).
