What the RCS and GRS Logos on Clothing Actually Certify

Turn over a sweater/jumper or a pair of sneakers/trainers and you may find a small tag reading RCS or GRS, sometimes with a logo. Both come from Textile Exchange, a nonprofit that sets standards for the textile industry, and both relate to recycled content. They are not quality marks, durability guarantees, or overall sustainability labels — they certify something quite specific, and the difference between the two letters matters.

According to Textile Exchange, both standards "set the criteria for the third-party certification of recycled materials and chain of custody." In plain terms: an independent certification body checks that the recycled material in the product is what the label says it is, and that its path through the supply chain is documented. The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is the stricter of the two, because it adds requirements beyond recycled content itself.

What each standard verifies

The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) is the simpler one. Its stated goals are to align definitions of "recycled" across applications, verify recycled content in products, and give buyers a means to make informed decisions. The Global Recycled Standard keeps those goals and adds more: Textile Exchange says the GRS is "a more rigorous standard" with "a higher minimum content percentage (50%) and additional processing requirements (social, environmental, and chemical)."

Under the GRS, that extra rigor reaches into how the product was made. Textile Exchange describes the GRS as "a full product standard to verify and track recycled raw materials through the supply chain" that "also includes processing criteria to prevent the use of potentially hazardous chemicals, and verifies positive social or environmental production at the facilities." The GRS builds on the chain-of-custody requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS).

The thresholds: 20% and 50%

The recycled-content numbers work differently depending on who the claim is aimed at — at least for the GRS. Per Textile Exchange's own FAQ, a product with at least 20% recycled content can be certified to the GRS as a business-to-business tool, but consumer-facing labeling with the GRS logo requires at least 50% recycled content. The FAQ does not state a consumer-label threshold for the RCS.

What counts as "recycled" is also defined. Textile Exchange states that materials "are verified to meet the ISO definition of 'recycled'" and that "both pre-consumer and post-consumer material is accepted." Pre-consumer material is waste from manufacturing; post-consumer material comes from products that were already used — for recycled polyester, plastic bottles are the common source today, as Textile Exchange notes on its polyester page.

Chain of custody and auditing

A recycled-content claim is only as credible as the tracking behind it. Textile Exchange describes chain of custody as the process that "documents and verifies the path certified materials take through all stages of the supply chain to the final product," with "a professional, third-party certification body" auditing each stage. Only products that meet all requirements may carry the RCS or GRS logo.

One practical detail: GRS certification does not automatically include RCS certification. Textile Exchange advises companies that want both to request them together from their certification body, noting that another audit is typically not necessary because RCS requirements are covered by the GRS.

What the logos do not tell you

The RCS and GRS verify recycled content — and, for the GRS, chemical, social and environmental processing criteria. They are not marks of garment quality, fit, or durability, and they are not a judgment of a brand overall. Textile Exchange itself frames limitations on the material side: on its polyester page it acknowledges that "one of the shortfalls of some recycled polyester materials is their ability to be recycled over and over again," pointing to textile-to-textile recycling as a focus for the future. In other words, a certified recycled label says where the fiber came from, not what happens to it at the end of the garment's life.

A transition is under way

Textile Exchange states it is unifying its standards into the Materials Matter Standard, "a voluntary sustainability standard for the production and primary processing of raw materials." According to the organization, the criteria were released on December 12, 2025, the standard becomes effective December 31, 2026, and it becomes mandatory from December 31, 2027, after which Tier 4 organizations will need to complete their next audit to the new standard. These dates are as stated by Textile Exchange on the page read for this article; check the organization's transition pages for updates.

How to check it yourself

• Look for the RCS or GRS name and logo on the sewn-in label, hangtag, or product page, and note which standard is named — per Textile Exchange's FAQ, consumer-facing GRS labeling requires at least 50% recycled content.
• Use Textile Exchange's "Find a Certified Company" directory to confirm whether a company is certified.
• If a claim seems unclear, ask the brand which standard applies and check the answer against Textile Exchange's own pages, which include the standards documents, a Claims & Labeling Guidance section, and an FAQ.