Global Recycled Standard
IGO textile | 2025-08-28
Global Recycled Standard (GRS): The Benchmark for a More Sustainable Fashion and Industry, with Examples from IGO Textile's SEAQUAL® Products
In France, over 670 standards regulate the textile industry, yet few combine requirements for composition, traceability, and social responsibility like the Global Recycled Standard (GRS). Launched in 2008 by Control Union Certifications and acquired by Textile Exchange in 2011, this international certification—adopted in more than 50 countries—has become an indispensable marker for businesses and consumers prioritizing products made from recycled materials without compromising ethics or the environment.
What is the GRS and what are its missions?
The GRS does more than verify the percentage of recycled materials in a product: it establishes a comprehensive framework to ensure every stage of the supply chain adheres to strict criteria. For a company to qualify as GRS-certified, its entire production chain must contain at least 20% recycled materials; as for the finished product, it must include a minimum of 50% recycled materials to display the GRS label. A key point: the exact percentage of recycled materials must be indicated on the label, unless the rate exceeds 95%. Additionally, the recycled materials used must systematically come from legal supply sources—a fundamental requirement to guarantee supply chain transparency.
Its primary ambition? To increase the use of recycled materials and reduce the negative impacts of producing "new" items—such as excessive water consumption, pesticide pollution, or industrial waste. To achieve this, the GRS mandates that all certified companies (from recyclers to distributors, including spinning mills, weaving facilities, and printers) comply with three core pillars: traceability, environmental responsibility, and social equity.
Key GRS Criteria: Balancing Environment and Ethics
The GRS does not rely on superficial measures: its standards are audited annually by independent third-party bodies (such as Control Union, Ecocert, or NSF International), ensuring full transparency.
1. Environment: Reducing Ecological Footprint
- Material and Waste Management: Prohibition of certain substances harmful to health or the environment, including dangerous chemicals classified under the REACH Regulation (a European law aimed at ensuring the safe use of chemicals). Companies must implement a wastewater treatment system, promote the recycling of production waste, and properly manage all generated waste.
- Energy and Resources: Implementation of rigorous environmental management, including monitoring and limiting electricity and water consumption, as well as reducing pollutant discharges into wastewater and air. Furthermore, incentives for responsible energy consumption (investment in high-efficiency equipment, repair or recycling of machinery) and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (including those from transportation) are also required.
- Resource Conservation: By using recycled materials (such as recycled cotton from end-of-life fabrics), the GRS helps save water and land: for example, recycled cotton avoids the use of pesticides and reduces water consumption by up to 98% compared to virgin cotton.
2. Social: Respecting Human Rights
No GRS product can be manufactured through exploitation. The label imposes socially responsible production with clear prohibitions:
- Child labor (compliance with the national legal minimum age) and forced labor;
- All forms of discrimination (racial, gender-based, disability-related, or sexual orientation-related), as well as harassment and abuse;
- Denial of trade union rights (workers' freedom of association and right to collective bargaining).
In addition, working conditions must imperatively ensure the safety and health of workers (risk prevention procedures, on-site hygiene, etc.).
3. Traceability and Transparency
Every stage of the product's lifecycle is tracked: from the collection of recycled materials (e.g., plastic bottles, used textiles) to the finished product. Companies must make information on material composition and origin accessible to their employees and customers—a guarantee against "greenwashing."
How to Obtain GRS Certification?
Certification is fee-based and involves a rigorous process:
- Choose an accredited certification body (e.g., Ecocert, with nearly 30 years of experience in sustainable certification);
- Material Verification: Provide proof of the legal origin of recycled materials (supplier certificates, laboratory reports) in accordance with the Content Claim Standard (CCS)—a fundamental Textile Exchange tool for validating component quality;
- On-Site Audit: The body verifies compliance with social, environmental, and traceability criteria (notably the percentage of recycled materials in the production chain and finished product);
- Annual Renewal: Certification is valid for one year, and a new audit is required to maintain it.
IGO Textile's SEAQUAL® Products: A GRS Success Story
The website www.igotextile.com perfectly illustrates how the GRS can be implemented in innovative products: its items made from SEAQUAL® YARN are fully eligible for GRS certification, as they meet all its requirements.
SEAQUAL® YARN is made from 10% recovered marine plastic (waste collected from oceans and coasts) and 90% recycled polyester (from used plastic bottles)—a composition that ensures a 100% recycled material rate, well exceeding the 20% required for the production chain and the 50% necessary for displaying the label on the finished product. Moreover, production strictly adheres to the GRS's environmental standards (no toxic substances, rational energy management, and wastewater treatment) and social standards (marine plastic collection is often carried out by local fishermen or associations, creating jobs in pollution-affected areas).
IGO Textile offers various applications of this fiber (//www.igotextile.com/Application.html):
- Promotional bags made from SEAQUAL® YARN (used in campaigns such as that of myclimate);
- Elastic fabrics for sports (suitable for activewear, combining comfort and sustainability);
- GRS-certified belt bags for the brand ROSSMAANN: a concrete example of a finished product that combines design, functionality, and responsibility, with the recycled material rate clearly indicated.
Why are the GRS and Products like SEAQUAL® Essential?
In 2021, the collection of used textiles in France reached 244,500 tons, but only 33% were recycled (58% reused and 9% converted into fuel). The GRS accelerates this transition by encouraging companies to invest in recycled materials (with clearly defined rates) and adhere to uncompromising social and environmental standards. Meanwhile, products like those from IGO Textile demonstrate that sustainability is not incompatible with performance—while providing consumers with protection against greenwashing.
For consumers, the GRS label is a trust tool: it enables informed choices, knowing the product was manufactured ethically and ecologically. For businesses, it is a competitive advantage: accessing international markets (notably in Europe and the United States) and enhancing their reputation as responsible actors in the transition to a circular economy.
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