Proving Recycled Fibre: GRS, RCS and the DPP

Recycled content claims in textiles rest on two major schemes: Textile Exchange's Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS). Both rely on the same chain-of-custody logic, but they prove different things. For the Digital Product Passport the critical question is this: does the document in your hand show that the fibre in this shipment is recycled, or only that your supplier is able to produce such material?

GRS versus RCS

Both standards sit on Textile Exchange's Content Claim Standard (CCS): certified material is kept physically separate or blended in known proportions, and accounting-based mass balance is not accepted. For a general comparison of chain-of-custody models, see how to prove recycled content.

Scope certificate and transaction certificate

A scope certificate (SC) shows that a facility operates to the standard for specific products and processes; it is renewed by annual audit. When your supplier says "we are GRS certified", this is what they mean.

A transaction certificate (TC) is issued by the certification body for a specific shipment: product, quantity, recycled share, buyer and seller. Every link in the chain (recycler, spinner, weaver, garment maker) must both hold an SC and have a TC issued to the next link. If one link does not issue a TC, the claim breaks at that point.

For the passport the conclusion is clear: the SC is a background document, the TC is the evidence. The TC number, date and issuing body belong next to the share in the passport. For the mechanics of verification, see DPP verification, trust and digital signatures.

Pre- or post-consumer, bottle or textile?

Pre-consumer material is production waste; post-consumer material reached a user and became waste. Some buyers count only post-consumer content; the TC shows the two shares separately, and so should the passport.

The source stream matters too. Most recycled polyester today comes from PET bottles; textile-to-textile recycling is still limited in scale. Bottle-derived rPET is legitimate post-consumer content, but it is not "textile recycling". As packaging rules push to keep bottles in their own loop, this distinction will become more visible; see DPP for plastics and polymers and separate textile waste collection and the DPP.

How it appears in the passport

A percentage on its own is meaningless. Per fibre, the structure is:

• Fibre and share: polyester, 50% recycled.
• Source: post-consumer (PET bottle) or pre-consumer.
• Scheme: GRS or RCS; TC number, date, issuing body.
• Scope: which component (shell, lining) and which fabric lot.
• Product-level total: calculated from the fibre shares, not declared separately.

Fibre composition itself is already a mandatory field; the recycled share is an attribute of it, not a separate claim. See fibre composition in textiles and the DPP. If the match between fabric lot and style is lost, so is the knowledge of which product the TC covers; see DPP data quality management.

The greenwashing risk

"Recycled" without a TC is an unsubstantiated claim under the Empowering Consumers Directive and the Green Claims framework. Using the GRS logo on a product below 50% also breaks the scheme's own rules. The certificate must match the scope of the claim: a jacket with a GRS lining is not a "recycled jacket". See the Green Claims Directive and greenwashing. To receive the TC with every shipment, put a clause in the supplier contract; see DPP clauses for supplier contracts and the textile DPP guide.

Frequently asked questions