What is the difference between GRS and RCS?

The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) and Global Recycled Standard (GRS) are developed for the needs of the textile and others industries to verify recycled products or certain specific products. More importantly, let retailers and consumers know which parts of a particular product are made of recycled materials and how to handle them in the supply chain. 

They are both international, voluntary standards that set requirements for third-party certification of recycled input and chain of custody. The shared goal of the standards is to increase the use of recycled materials.

The RCS and GRS follow similar criteria while GRS having additional, rigorous requirements.

The following need to be met for RCS certification:

 Recycled materials – at least 5% recycled content

 Traceability of the recycled material throughout the entire production process from the recycler to the final product

 Ethical and responsible production

 Ethical work conditions and labour practices, including compliance to the International Labour Organization’s labour standards

In addition to the above, the following also needs to be met for GRS certification:

 Recycled materials – at least 20% recycled content

 Social impact and compliance

 Environmental impact and compliance

 Chemical restrictions

In conclusion, the differences between GRS and RCS are as follows:

1) The minimum claimed recycled material percentage is different:

   GRS : 20% and more

   RCS: 5% and more

2) Labeling requirements for recycled materials percentage is different (using the GRS or RCS logo on products):

   GRS : 50% and more

   RCS Blended: 5%-95%

   RCS 100: 90% and more

This ratio is the weight of recycled material as a percentage of the entire product. If one product includes more than 1 kind of recycled materials, then each recycled material need to meet related percentage.

3) The GRS includes additional requirements for social responsibility, environmental management and chemical restrictions while RCS not.

With the above information, you can easily understand why we apply for RCS instead of GRS.

Because the electronic products we operate, such as wireless chargers, bluetooth speakers, charging cables, power bank etc., only the housing part can use recycled materials, still they have batteries, PCB/PCBA boards, coils and other parts that cannot use recycled materials, so in order to meet the corresponding standards, it is the most suitable for our products to apply for RCS certification.

More information on: textileexchange.org