RCS and GRS both verify recycled content, but they are not interchangeable. RCS covers single-material products and has no social requirements. GRS covers multi-material products and adds facility-level social and environmental requirements. Here is how to tell which your customer needs.
RCS — Recycled Claim Standard — and GRS — Global Recycled Standard — are both chain-of-custody standards for recycled content, both administered by Textile Exchange. The key difference is scope: RCS is for single-material products (a yarn that is 100% recycled polyester, for example) and covers chain of custody only. GRS is for multi-material products, has a 20% minimum content threshold, and adds social and environmental requirements at each certified facility.
| Feature | RCS | GRS |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Textile Exchange | Textile Exchange |
| Current version | 2.0 (check Textile Exchange for updates) | 4.0 (check Textile Exchange for updates) |
| Scope | Single-material products | Multi-material products |
| Minimum recycled content | None — chain of custody for any content claim | 20% to use standard; 50% to label product as GRS-certified |
| Content types covered | Post-consumer or pre-consumer recycled | Post-consumer or pre-consumer recycled |
| Social requirements at facility | None | Prohibited practices (child labour, forced labour), grievance mechanism, working hours |
| Environmental requirements at facility | None | Wastewater management, hazardous waste, restricted substances |
| Blended products (recycled + virgin) | Allowed — claim percentage disclosed | Allowed — claim percentage disclosed |
| Label on product | RCS-certified or content percentage | GRS-certified (at 50%+) or recycled content percentage |
If your buyer is making a recycled content claim on a finished product with multiple material types — for example a shoe with a recycled polyester upper and a rubber outsole — GRS is the standard that covers the full product. If the claim is on a single-material intermediate (a recycled polyester yarn, a recycled cotton fabric sold as a fabric to a cut-and-sew factory), either RCS or GRS can be used. Brands with strong social compliance programmes typically require GRS at every processing facility even for single-material products, because GRS includes the facility-level social audit requirements that RCS does not.
Both RCS and GRS require transaction certificates (TCs) to be issued for each sale of certified material. The TC records the quantity sold, the recycled content percentage, the certificate numbers of buyer and seller, and the standard and version. A buyer cannot make a certified recycled content claim without a valid TC for each input. If any step in the supply chain — from the recycling facility to the finished product manufacturer — does not hold a valid scope certificate and issue TCs, the chain is broken and the certified claim is not valid for the final product.
GRS is more demanding than RCS, so a GRS-certified facility can issue TCs for both GRS and RCS transactions, as long as the products and processes are within scope. Check your scope certificate to confirm which products are listed — certification covers the specific products and processes assessed, not everything the factory makes.
Certification is obtained through a third-party certification body, not directly through Textile Exchange. The certification body conducts the audit against the relevant standard. The same audit body can certify to both standards. Textile Exchange sets and owns the standards and manages the licensing of certification bodies.
Yes. At 30% recycled content, the product meets the 20% threshold and can carry a GRS label — but not a 'GRS-certified product' claim, which requires 50%. The label should state the recycled content percentage. The virgin material is not certified under GRS — only the recycled portion's chain of custody is covered.
Need a CSRD gap analysis or hands-on implementation? Sustainability Frisk can help. www.sustainability-frisk.com
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