Textile Exchange

The GRS
The GRS is intended for companies that are making and/or selling products with recycled content. The standard applies to the full supply chain and addresses traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, and labeling. Developed with the textile industry in mind, the GRS may also be applied to products from any industry.

Recent and Upcoming Changes
GRS v2.1 - Effective June 1, 2012
The newest version of the GRS includes a minor, but important change; the allowance of pre-industrial waste will be removed, and the standard will only recognize pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. The following definitions will apply:

Pre-Consumer Waste: Material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process.  Excluded is the reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable to being reclaimed within the same process.
Post-Consumer Waste: Material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product that can no longer be used for its intended purpose.  This includes returns of materials from the distribution chain.

Pre-industrial waste was removed as a recycled input for the GRS, as it does not reliably meet the FTC and other requirements that the material would have otherwise been diverted to the waste stream.

Example: Pre-industrial waste would include the short fibers that fall out of cotton spinning and are often re-used in the same spinning process; we regard this as 'efficiency' and normal industry practice, not recycling.

All companies being newly certified to the GRS will be required to use the GRS v2.1, and companies with existing GRS v2 certification will maintain their current certification until the end of the validity date on their scope certificates.

GRS v3
GRS v2.1 is an interim measure as we continue work on the GRS v3. GRS v3 will be more stringent than the current standard, with additional requirements for chemical inputs, and further definitions on the inputs that can be claimed as recycled input. The Draft GRS V3 and the Draft GRS V3 Manual are currently available for review. Please send comments to Integrity@TextileExchange.org.

How to Get Certified
If you would like your products to be certified to the GRS standard, contact a certification body currently certifying to the standard and they will direct you through the process.
Current Certification Bodies: Control Union

How to Get Accredited
If you are a certifying body and would like to become accredited to certify against the GRS, please contact us and we will work with you to begin this process. Integrity@TextileExchange.org

Additional Information
GRS Brochure
GRS v2.1 Input Requirements
GRS Webinar Presentation
GRS v2