Standards, Recycled Material Specialist

About Us 

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit driving a positive impact on climate change across the fashion and textile industry. It guides a growing community of brands, manufacturers, and farmers toward more purposeful production from the very start of the supply chain. 

By 2030, its goal is to guide the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within fiber and raw material production. Its focus is holistic and interconnected, accelerating the adoption of practices that improve the state of our water, soil health, and biodiversity too. 

For real change to happen, everyone needs a clear path to positive impact. That’s why Textile Exchange believes that approachable, step-by-step instruction paired with collective action can change the system to make preferred materials and fibers an accessible default, mobilizing leaders through attainable strategies, proven solutions, and a driven community. At Textile Exchange, materials matter. To learn more, visit TextileExchange.org. 

Working at Textile Exchange 

We work remotely with a team located in 20+ countries. We are a diverse group committed to harnessing the strengths of the global textile industry to accelerate change toward climate and other key environmental goals. We work collaboratively on important environmental issues around the world by working and interacting with farming groups, processors, brands, retailers, and environmental experts in the textile and fashion industries around the world. We offer an opportunity to join a cutting-edge global environmental nonprofit and to help strengthen the impact of our organization. Each Textile Exchange employee is offered a competitive compensation package with paid time off, a yearly bonus, opportunities for continuing education, and more. 

Job Summary 

The Recycled Materials Specialist is part of the Textile Exchange Standards team, the department responsible for the development and maintenance of various textile sector sustainability standards used for independent auditing and certification. This position will serve as our team expert on recycled materials that form the basis of the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), as well as the developing unified standard system. Expertise in recycled materials includes eligibility for different reclaimed input materials, recycling technologies, as well as concepts to improve resource utilization and reduce waste in textile processing. The Recycled Materials Specialist will have/develop a strong foundation and expertise with certification standards, working on related topics covering implementation and interpretation of standard areas pertaining to recycled materials, as well as related policies and systems that support the implementation of the standards. 

Like all positions at Textile Exchange, the role will be primarily home-based. Textile Exchange is a US-based, remote-working organization with a global team. This position is open to domestic and international candidates with some overlap of working hours with the US Pacific Standard Time zone required. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

1) Recycled Standards Lead 

• Serve as the technical expert for Textile Exchange’s Standards covering recycled materials: the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), as well as the developing unified standard system, collectively referred to as the “recycled standards”; 
• Develop and maintain corresponding policies, procedures, training materials, templates, and other resources that support comprehension and uptake of the standards; 
• Develop knowledge on the application of the recycled standards across a wide range of reclaimed inputs, recycling processes (including mechanical and chemical recycling), as well as related fibers & materials and supply chains that form the scope of the standards; 
• Collaborate with the Fibers & Materials team on strategic developments that support recycled materials as an innovative solution for conventional material substitution, including the teams working in synthetics and manmade cellulosic fibers; 
• Collaborate with the Stakeholder Engagement team to support the uptake of the recycled standards, including support on inquiries and questions; 
• Collaborate with the Assurance team, the department responsible for oversight of the implementation of Textile Exchange’s standards in the field, to support information needed for performance monitoring and calibration of the standards; 
• Collaborate with the Claims & Labeling team on requirements for product eligibility according to different claim thresholds; 
• Collaborate with the Standards team on revisions of standard content, including coordination with an international working group, drafting/revising criteria, facilitating public consultations, and finalization of new versions of standards; 
• Conduct training as needed to support comprehension of the standards; 
• Support development of the value proposition for use of the standards and support related promotion and uptake. 

2) Ongoing Recycled Material Initiatives 

• Revise and implement the system used for review and approval of different inputs for recycled materials, including solutions to ensure approvals are clear, efficient, and transparent; 
• Provide technical input for the Textile Exchange mass balance concept, referred to as the Alternative Volume Reconciliation Policy, including exploration of different processes and new technologies that may qualify in the future; 
• Explore solutions for standards to play a role in improved resource utilization during processing that results in reduced waste, particularly as a balance to growing market demand for pre-consumer/post-industrial waste inputs; 
• Explore concepts for the role of Textile Exchange standards at tier 4 in the supply chain, i.e., the initial phase of collecting and sorting reclaimed inputs; 
• Participate in strategic discussions related to recycling including Textile Exchange’s role in non-textile use of the recycled standards as well as avenues to increase textile-to-textile recycling; 
• As applicable, prepare and oversee pilot field testing of new concept areas during the development phase, e.g., expansion of the mass balance policy. Minimum Experience and Qualifications 
• Bachelor-level degree in an engineering or science-based field; 
• Experience in the recycled materials sector, including topics around post-industrial vs. pre-consumer vs. post-consumer categorization, manufacturing co-products vs. by-products, collecting/sorting, and recycling processes; 
• Experience working with voluntary standards and/or verification programs; working with standards that are part of the ISEAL community is preferred; 
• Knowledge of material manufacturing processes and supply chains including ease with visiting these types of operations for key discussions and to learn more; 
• Familiarity with the differences between mechanical and chemical recycling a plus; 
• Comfort reviewing chemical processes connected to recycling and chemical management used in re-manufacturing processes; 
• Analytical and detail-oriented with intuitive thought processes to understand new contexts to provide interpretation of requirements; 
• People-oriented and empathetic for outreach activities and to understand questions and scenarios and provide helpful solutions; 
• Highly literate, with excellent written and grammatical skills in English to provide clear and concise writing in standards and guidance; 
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, & Word and the ability to quickly learn new systems; 
• A driven individual with a strong work ethic and a high degree of autonomy; self-starting and proactive; 
• Strong organizational and planning skills; 
• Able to hit the ground running – you will need to have experience working in a fast-paced and demanding environment; 
• Motivated, energetic, determined, and with strong interpersonal skills; 
• Able to produce a high standard of work across all forms of media; 
• Honest, professional, responsible, discreet, and able to act with the utmost confidence at all times; 
• Flexibility to work across multiple time zones and ability to overlap with the North American time zones for parts of the workday; 
• Experience working in global Textile supply chains; 
• Experience working at an international organization. 

Employment Package 

• Reports to Director, Standards 
• Full-Time Position, 40 Hours a Week 
• Location: Virtual/Remote 
• Salary Range: $50,000-$60,000 USD 
• Start Date: As Soon as Available 

How to Apply:

Please submit the following here 

• Resume 
• Cover Letter 

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis as they are submitted. Early application submission is strongly encouraged. 

Textile Exchange is committed to creating a diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.