Textile Exchange Recycled Claim Standard 2.0 2013

Textile Exchange Recycled Claim Standard 2.0 2013

TE Recycled Claim Standard 2013

[AG1]

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

A1 - References

A1.1 Reference Documents

A1.2 Definitions

A2 - Compliance Requirements - Recycled Materials

A2.1 Material Collection

A2.2 Material Concentration

A2.3 Material Recycling

A3 Compliance Requirements – Production

A3.1 Application of Production Requirements

A3.2 Production

B1 - Labeling Language

B1.1 Labeling to the TE Recycled Claim Standard

C1 - Use of RCS Logos

C1.1 Certification Bodies

C1.2 Certified Organizations

C1.3 Brands and Retailers

C2 - Misuse of RCS Logos

D1 - Identification of RCS Goods

D1.1 Products

D1.2 Certification documents

D1.3 Marketing and Advertising

D2 - Design Specifications

D2.1 Logo

D2.2 Color

D2.3 Size

D3 - Obtaining a Logo

D3.1 Certification Bodies

D3.2 Certified Organizations

E1 - Textile Exchange Certification Toolkit - Essential Series

E2 - Questions and Additional Information

Appendix A - Reclaimed Material Declaration Form

Reclaimed Material Declaration Form

Definitions

Foreword

Textile Exchange (TE) is an international, member-supported non-profit organization that was established in 2003 under the original name of Organic Exchange. Textile Exchange’s mission is to accelerate sustainable practices in the textile industry. This acceleration only happens when steps have been taken to ensure that actions taken toward sustainability result in real and meaningful change. This requires a strong understanding of the issues and a plan to substantiate the claims being made. Certification to a third-party standard accomplishes this.

Textile Exchange’s chain of custody standards are developed to maintain the identity of a raw material and track that raw material from input to the final product. The Content Claim Standard (CCS) applies these two principles, and can be used for any raw material on a business-to-business basis, and forms the foundation of the Organic Content Standard (OCS), used to identify and track organic materials, and the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), which identifies and tracks recycled materials.

Introduction

The goal of the RCS is to give credibility to recycled content claims on products. By protecting the trust of consumers as they choose products made of recycled materials, we hope to contribute to the increased use of recycled materials, and a reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills or incineration.

The RCS uses the chain-of-custody requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS). On its own, the CCS is a generic standard for chain of custody verification. This common set of requirements across TE’s standards contributes to the consistency and efficiency of the certification process. Once a company has been certified to the CCS requirements for one standard, they meet the same chain-of-custody requirements for other standards based on the CCS.

The Recycled Claim Standard verifies the presence and amount of recycled material in a final product through input and chain-of-custody verification from a third party. It allows for transparent, consistent and comprehensive independent evaluation and verification of recycled material content claims on products. It can be used as a business-to-business tool to give companies the means to ensure that they are getting what they are paying for and selling, or as a way to ensure accurate and honest communication with consumers.

The RCS uses the ISO 14021 definition of recycled content, with interpretations based on the US Federal Trade Commission Green Guides; the intention is to comply with the most widely recognized and stringent definitions. Sellers of RCS products are advised to reference the allowed recycled content claims in the countries of sale, to ensure that they are meeting all legal product claim requirements.

The RCS does not address other inputs, environmental aspects of processing (such as energy, water or chemical use), any quality or social issues, or legal compliance.

Intended users of the RCS are recyclers, manufacturers, brands and retailers, certification bodies, and organizations supporting recycled material initiatives.

This is a voluntary standard that is not intended to replace the legal or regulatory requirements of any country. It is the responsibility of each operation to demonstrate compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to marketing, labor and business practices.

The RCS will be reviewed at least every five years. In the meantime, suggestions for revisions or adjustments will be accepted for consideration during the regular review. You may submit your comments to . Points of clarification will be made more frequently through the CCS Implementation Manual.

The RCS Logos were designed by Troy Tucker.

Section A - Requirements for Certification

A1 - Scope

A1.1 Recycled Claim Standard

A1.1a The Standard establishes that specific input materials are accounted for and quantified for the purposes of making a percentage-based claim.

A1.1b The Standard applies to products that contain 5% or more recycled content.

A1.1c The Standard can be used with any recycled input material, and can apply to any supply chain.

A1.1d The Standard gives guidelines for practices that protect the integrity and identity of recycled material.

A1.2 Application

The RCS addresses the flow of products within and between companies, and covers manufacturing, storage, handling, and shipping. The RCS applies to the supply chain, including all owners up to the final seller in the last B2B transaction.

A1.3 Effectiveness

The standard is effective as of April 20, 2017. The RCS 2.0 replaces all earlier versions of the Recycled Claim Standard. Details of the transition and major updates from RCS 1.0 are found in the TE RCS 2.0 Transition document. Certification to the RCS is valid for one year and subject to annual renewals.

A2 - References

A2.1 Reference Documents

The following additional documents cover the requirements of the TE Recycled Claim Standard, and are fully binding:

Content Claim Standard
Content Claim Standard Implementation Manual

All documents can be found at

A2.2 Referenced Documents

The following referenced documents were used in the development of this standard:

•TE Recycled Claim Standard 1.0

•Global Recycle Standard v2.1 and 3.0

A3 Definitions

The Content Claim Standard has a complete set of the terms used in the TE standards. The following are specific to the RCS, and are important in defining the verification requirements for the input materials for recycling:

Material Collection: Material collection refers to the point in the recycling lifecycle when a material is reclaimed from the waste stream.

Entities involved in material collection may include, but are not limited to:

Individuals who collect post-consumer materials for sale to brokers
Government organizations (eg: municipalities) that offer curbside recycling or operate transfer stations
Brokers that purchase pre/post-consumer waste from individuals, municipalities, or commercial operations for re-sale
Commercial operations that generate pre-consumer waste from manufacturing operations
Commercial operations that collect post-consumer waste (eg: retail stores)

Material Concentration: Material concentration refers to the point in the recycling lifecycle when a reclaimed material receives primary handling.

This may include, but is not limited to, sorting, screening, basic contaminant removal, or baling. Material is still unprocessed at this stage, meaning it has not been physically or chemically altered beyond basic handling, e.g. screening, crushing, or washing.

Entities involved in material concentration shall have legal authorization to operate as one of the following:

Government organization (eg: municipality)
Non-profit organization
Business entity (eg: brokers)

Guidance: Proof of “legal authorization to operate” is for example, a government-issued business license number or non-profit registration document. This ensures that there is a valid organization behind the declaration form, and to give an added measure of protection against the possible trading of stolen goods. Where legal authorization is required to process waste, there shall be proof that this is in place.

Material Recycling: Material recycling refers to the point in the recycling lifecycle when a reclaimed material is processed into a recycled material.

Post-Consumer Material: Material generated by households or by commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product that can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of materials from the distribution chain.[1]

Examples:

Used clothing shredded back to fiber, then spun into yarn again.
Used clothing melted down into pellets, and then yarn extruded and spun again.
Down filling collected from used bedding, cleaned, re-processed and filled into products.
Reclaimed glass bottles melted down and used to make bottles again.
Used rubber tires, melted down, extruded, and used to make rubber products.
Used shoe soles, shredded, and used to pave tracks, etc.
Used plastic bottles, melted down, extruded and spun into yarn.
Material generated by manufacturers in their role as end users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose would not be considered pre-consumer recycled content, but may be considered post-consumer recycled content.[2]

Pre-Consumer Material: Material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process. Excluded is the reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it.[3][4]

Examples:

Cutting waste (fabric) collected , shredded back to fiber, and spun into yarn again.
Metal scraps from manufacturing melted down to be used again.
A larger retailer returns unused shoes to a shoe manufacturer. The manufacturer is able to reprocess and use components of the
shoes as a raw material in their manufacturing process to produce the same shoe product.
A paint manufacturer uses an acetone solvent as a raw material in their product. The manufacturer is able to recover spent acetone using solvent recovery equipment and recycles the purified
acetone directly back into the manufacturing process to produce the same paint product.

Reclaimed Material: Material that would have otherwise been disposed of as waste or used for energy recovery, but has instead been collected and reclaimed as a material input, in lieu of new primary material, for a recycling process.[5]

Guidance: The expressions "recovered material" and "reclaimed material" are treated as synonyms; however, it is recognized that, in some countries, one or other of these expressions may be preferred for this application. If your industry or your country uses different terminology, please contact for further clarification.

We also recognize that it is difficult to substantiate that a material would have ‘otherwise been disposed of as waste or used for energy recovery’, as once a recycling process is established, the material is no longer being directed into a waste stream. See “Pre-Consumer Material” for further clarification.

Recycled content: Proportion, by mass, of recycled material in goods or packaging. Only pre- consumer and post-consumer materials shall be considered as recycled content.

Guidance: Packaging is exempted from the requirements of the standard, unless the recycled material being claimed is part of the packaging.

Recycled Material: Material that has been reprocessed from reclaimed material by means of a manufacturing process and made into a final product or into a component for incorporation into a product.[6]

Guidance: A recycled content claim may be made only for materials that have been recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream, either during the manufacturing process (pre-consumer), or after consumer use (post-consumer). To the extent the source of recycled content includes pre-consumer material, the manufacturer or advertiser shall be able to justify that the pre-consumer material would otherwise have entered the solid waste stream and/or meets the qualification for by-products listed in the definition for “pre-consumer material”.

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission, “Recycled content includes recycled raw material, as well as used, reconditioned, and re-manufactured components.” (FTC 2012 Green Guide, 260.13.a) While materials that meet this definition may be considered as recycled in the US, the narrower definition of “recycled material” listed above is used for the Recycled Claim Standard.

Companies may choose to use the RCS to verify “remake” materials. These materials may not be labeled with reference to the RCS on the final product.

Remake: Material that has been diverted from the post-consumer waste stream, and may be used in the production of a new product without requiring additional processing. Material with this designation may not be labeled with the Standard Logo in the final product, but may be verified and tracked through RCS Transaction Certificates.

Examples:

Jeans are recovered through donation centers, returned to a cut and sew facility, different components and pieces of the jeans are cut up and re-sewn together to create new consumer products.

A4–Recycled Material Requirements

Certification to the RCS is required for entities involved in Material Recycling., and shall require these entities to keep records of their Reclaimed Material suppliers.

To summarize:

Reclaimed material suppliers should submit below required documentation to their customers. Reclaimed material suppliers are subject to further inspection, as mentioned in the Reclaimed Material Supplier Agreement.
Material Recycling: full RCS certification; transaction certificates Production and Trading: full RCS certification, with exceptions for subcontractors and low volume traders; transaction certificates
The requirements for each stage up to and including recycling are as follows:

Guidance:

A risk assessment of all the Material Collectors and/or Concentrators of a Material Recycling facility should be conducted. At least ten percent (with a minimum of one) of all Collectors and/or Concentrators should be chosen for direct verification, with two percent (with a minimum of one) chosen for physical inspection. These facilities may be chosen randomly or as a result of the risk assessment. Risk factors should include, but are not limited to, use of Pre-Consumer Material as input, facilities with high volumes of input material into GRS Material Recycling facilities, and inconsistencies in documentation. CBs should make an effort to avoid inspection of the same sites from one year to the next, if possible.

Direct verification of Material Collectors and Material Concentrators should seek to verify the authenticity of the Reclaimed Material Declaration Form as well as the following information:

That all claimed material meets the definition of Reclaimed Material (A3).
That all claimed material is properly identified as Pre-Consumer or Post-Consumer Material (A3).
That the source of all claimed material is reviewed.

Textile Exchange will not collect fees from inspections of Material Collectors or Material Concentrators.

Material Collectors or Concentrators may apply for RCS Certification if desired.

A4.1Material Recycling

A4.1a Entities involved in Material Recycling (as defined in A3) are subject to RCS certification. The RCS requires compliance with the requirements of the Content Claim Standard, whereby the ‘Claimed Material’ is replaced with ‘Recycled Material’ as defined in section A3.

A4.1b In addition, entities involved in Material Recycling shall:

Verify that all sources of Reclaimed Material have legal authorization to operate for the relevant function, and hold copies of the relevant documents.
Hold valid Reclaimed Material Supplier Agreements (see Appendix xx) for all suppliers of reclaimed material (entities involved in Material Collection and/or Material Concentration).
Additional information about the Suppliers?
Collect and retain completed Reclaimed Material Declaration Forms (see Appendix xx) from their suppliers for all Reclaimed Material inputs. The Reclaimed Material Declaration Forms shall be collected at least annually or if the Reclaimed Material source changes.

Guidance: If the reclaimed materials have been verified through an approved equivalent standard, then those reclaimed materials will be accepted for the RCS, as long as all related documentation is submitted to the Material Recycling facility and the Certification Body.

Accepted equivalent standards are those that have been approved by Textile Exchange and meet or exceed the requirements of the RCS for verification of reclaimed materials (i.e.: verification that they would have otherwise gone in to the waste stream). To be considered for equivalency, standards may be submitted to Textile Exchange by contacting .

Inspect all incoming shipments of Reclaimed Material to confirm that they are not virgin material; confirm the correct identification as pre- or post-consumer. Retain records of inspections.

Guidance: Virgin material shall be defined as any material that does not meet the definition of “Recycled Material” given in A4. Staff receiving reclaimed materials shall be trained and directed to identify any material that is or could be virgin material. If virgin material is suspected or identified, it shall be immediately removed from the reclaimed materials stock until further investigation confirms its identity. In the case that virgin material is identified or incorrectly labeled as pre- or post-consumer, increased control measures shall be applied for all incoming goods from the supplier involved, and the supplier of the material and the Certification Body shall be notified.

In all cases of virgin material, the certification body shall be informed, and it will be at their discretion to conduct further investigation with the supplier.

Request Transaction Certificates for all outgoing RCS certified goods.

A4.1cFor Material Recyclers who collect Reclaimed Material from their own processing, shall retain the following records to verify their volume of recycling:

Records of all materials entering the recycling process.
Description of reclaimed material and the stage where the waste was collected.
Any other relevant transfer notes.
Reclaimed Material Declaration Forms may be used in lieu of the records listed above (see Appendix XX).

A5Supply Chain Requirements

A5.1 Application of Production Requirements

Organizations involved in production of RCS goods are subject to RCS certification. The TE Recycled Claim Standard requires compliance with the requirements (sections A, B, C and D) of the Content Claim Standard, whereby the ‘Claimed Material’ is replaced with ‘Recycled Material’ as defined in section A1.2f.