GRS Certification Explained
In brief: The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is an international certification that verifies recycled content in textiles and tracks raw materials through the supply chain. Administered by Textile Exchange, it certifies products containing a minimum of 20 percent recycled material with full chain-of-custody documentation. Products with at least 50 percent verified recycled content may use the GRS Certified label, while 20 to 50 percent may reference GRS but not claim that label. It also covers social and environmental criteria with annual audits.
What is GRS certification?
The Global Recycled Standard, or GRS, is an international certification that verifies the recycled content in textiles and tracks raw materials through the supply chain. It is administered by Textile Exchange, a non-profit that runs several of the industry's leading material standards. GRS certifies products containing a minimum of 20 percent recycled material, backed by full chain-of-custody documentation. That documentation is the heart of the standard: it follows the recycled material from the recycling facility, through each stage of processing, all the way to the finished product, so the recycled-content claim can be independently substantiated rather than simply asserted.
How the GRS thresholds work
GRS uses clear content thresholds that govern how a product may be described. To carry the GRS Certified label, a product must contain a minimum of 50 percent verified recycled content. Products with between 20 and 50 percent recycled content may reference GRS in their documentation but cannot use the GRS Certified label, which keeps the strongest claim reserved for genuinely high-recycled-content goods. Beyond recycled content, the standard also sets environmental requirements and social criteria covering labour conditions, health and safety, and certified facilities operate in more than 70 countries worldwide, subject to annual compliance audits.
Why does GRS matter?
GRS provides the traceability that brands need to back up recycled-content claims against accusations of greenwashing. When a product carries GRS certification, its recycled content has been independently verified from the recycling facility through to the finished item, with each link in the chain documented. Without GRS or an equivalent certification, recycled-content claims are essentially unverified, resting on the word of the manufacturer alone. For shoppers who want their sustainability choices to be real rather than marketing, a recognised third-party standard like GRS turns a vague claim into a documented fact.
GRS Certification at OD's Designer Clothing
At OD's Designer Clothing, GRS-certified recycled materials feature in products from The North Face, Sandbanks and other brands that use verified recycled content in their ranges. Recognising the standard helps you tell a substantiated recycled claim from an unverified one. We offer next-day delivery and free click and collect, and customers in the North West are welcome to visit our St Helens store to see the ranges in person.