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Global recycling standard GRS
The Global Recycling Standard (GRS) was originally created by the Regulatory Union (CU) in 2008 and transferred ownership to the Textile Trade Association on January 1, 2011. This standard is for companies that want to have a claim describing the content of recycled raw materials in their final products. The GRS standard is based on the principle of track and trace of the finished product to be verified, while incorporating environmental and social responsibility requirements that are applicable in all industries. With the development of standards, there may be an option to introduce a transactional certificate system, which can provide a better monitoring and control mechanism for the industrial supply chain, thereby ensuring the integrity of the verified product. The Global Recycling Standard is designed for applicants who are members of the GRS certification scheme, which can be companies that trade and/or produce recycled goods (finished or semi-finished products) and are ready to join the GRS certification scheme. The scope of verified products is not limited to textiles, if the company outsources all or part of the production of the finished product, the relevant production units must also comply with the GRS standard.
Type:
Environmental protection related projects、Applicable Regions、globe、Related web pages、Textile Exchange、Normative content，
To be GRS verified, a product must contain at least 20% of the raw material made up of recycled fibers and be 100% non-polluting.
Recycled fibers should also clearly indicate pre-consumer or post-consumer waste, as well as the proportion of both pre- and post-consumer fibers in recycled fibers.
In addition to the regulations on raw materials, corporate social responsibility, pollution prevention and treatment in the production process, and chemical restrictions have been strengthened.
In order to obtain the GRS verification mark (hang tag), the raw material of the product must contain at least 50% recycled content in order to use the GRS verification mark (hang tag).
For more information, please refer to Global Recycled Standard 4.0
Similarity Validation Reference: Recycle Pronounced Lux、Raycy Clyde Clam Standard.
Recycled material test:
Shake to Shake Chart Certification Cladle to Cradle、Organic Content Standards (Oaks)、Olganich Contente Standard (Oakes)
The Global Organic Textile Label:
GOTS、Applicable products、Not virgin material and suitable for any product containing 20% or more recycled content.
Verify the application process:
Raw material suppliers, manufacturers, and importers of any GRS eligible products can apply for GRS verification. The verification process includes:
Submit an application for GRS verification: The applicant shall fill in the verification application contract, agree to the verification specifications, pay the verification fee, and attach the relevant product and production process information for verification in accordance with the format issued by the verification body. After receiving the complete information and fees, the verification unit shall be deemed to have accepted the application and begin to process it.
Conduct document review: The scope and purpose of the document review is to confirm that all documents have been filled in and signed correctly, the composition of the product meets the requirements of the GRS standard, and all product raw materials and their suppliers meet the requirements of the GRS standard.
First On-Site Audit: The scope and purpose of the first on-site audit is to confirm:
The recycled material content of the product meets the requirements of GRS standard.
The production process of the product does comply with the GRS standard.
Operators should establish and maintain a documented logistics traceability system to ensure the identification of raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products.
The Operator shall establish and maintain records of the characteristics, quantities, sources and destinations of all logistics.
The manufacturer should systematically control the status and quantity of all GRS-related raw materials and finished products.
Operators should establish and maintain documented procedures to ensure compliance with the requirements of the GRS standards for environmental and social issues.
The lead auditor of the case shall decide on a formal audit plan and send the audit plan to the contact person of the auditee at least 7 working days before the formal audit, which shall include: the subject and purpose of the audit, the scope of the application for verification, and the time and place of the audit.
If a non-conformity is found during the audit process, the lead auditor shall prepare a non-conformity report, stating the facts and relevant GRS standards, the severity of the non-conformity, and corrective and preventive measures. The Operator shall implement appropriate corrective and preventive measures and notify the Verification Body, and if the Operator fails to complete the improvement or fails to notify the Verification Body, the case will be automatically terminated.
For cases in which corrective and preventive measures have been implemented, the verification agency may reschedule the on-site audit or directly accept the improvement results depending on the severity of the non-conformities and the corrective and preventive conditions, but no matter what the situation, the non-conformities will be reconfirmed in the first follow-up inspection.
Issuance: The decision on whether to issue a certificate shall be decided by the verification committee of the certification body based on the document review report and the on-site inspection report. If the certificate is approved, a verification certificate will be issued, and the company and product name that have passed the verification will be included in the verification product database.
Disagreement with the issuance of the certificate: If the applicant does not agree to the issuance of the certificate, the verification body will notify the applicant of the reasons for the rejection, the content of the GRS standard that is not met, the content of the non-conformity, the priority and time limit of corrective and preventive measures, and the procedure and time limit for raising objections.
If the operator still wishes to obtain verification, it should submit documentation to prove that appropriate corrective precautions have been taken before the deadline. For cases where corrective and preventive measures have been implemented, the verification agency may rearrange the on-site inspection according to the severity of the non-conforming matters and the corrective prevention status, or directly accept the improvement results and issue a certificate. If the improvement is not completed within 90 days, the case will be automatically terminated.
Cooperate with follow-up check and certificate renewal: The GRS certificate is valid for 1 year at a time, and if the operator wants to withdraw from the verification during this period, it should notify the verification body in writing 60 days before and pay the certificate fee within the validity period. Operators within the validity period of the certificate are required to cooperate with the tracking and verification body to ensure that they continue to meet the requirements of the GRS standard. Before the certificate expires, the certification body will re-evaluate the product and process to decide whether to approve the renewal of the certificate, which mainly depends on the information obtained in the past 3 years.
Product labeling: Products that have passed the verification shall be labeled, and the labeling shall include the recycled material blending rate of the product, the verification number, and the name of the certification organization.
Source: https://cogp.greentrade.org.tw/%E9%A9%97%E8%AD%89%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%BD/28