Proof, not promises: the documentation behind every order
Recycled content claims are about to be held to a higher standard across the EU. We think that is good news, because evidence is what we have been shipping with every order for years. This page brings all of it together in one place, so that whichever kind of proof your compliance team asks for, you can see exactly what we provide and where it comes from.
The document pack that ships with your order
Most suppliers treat documentation as something they assemble when a buyer asks for it. We treat it as part of the product. Because the evidence is generated by how each order is made, it exists whether or not anyone requests it, and it arrives with the goods rather than weeks later.
Depending on the material and the product, an order from us is accompanied by a recycled content verification result for rPET products, an Environmental Impact Report with water, energy and carbon figures calculated for that specific order, production records held on blockchain, and the certification and transaction records relevant to the material used. Each of those is described in its own section below, with a link to the page that covers it in full.
The point is not that any single document proves everything, because none of them does. The point is that the layers reinforce one another, so a buyer can connect a statement about recycled content to a specific material, a specific order and a specific body of evidence.
How we verify recycled content: the RA3 test
The methods brands usually encounter report an expected range for recycled content. Our RA3 method reports the exact percentage of recycled PET bottle content in the sample, and Wessling has independently validated the methodology. We run it in our own laboratory, weekly, across multiple stages of production, so verification is part of the process rather than a one-off check.
RA3 is patent-pending and applies to rPET only. Companies can also send their own rPET products to us for RA3 testing as a standalone service, and validation of an individual result by Wessling is available on request. We keep the scope precise on purpose, because a verification method is only useful if everyone understands exactly what it measures.
Environmental impact data for every order
Impact figures are only as credible as their source. Ours are calculated for the order you actually receive, not quoted from a generic industry table, which is exactly the kind of product-level substantiation that EmpCo-era claims and Digital Product Passport data fields will call for.
The headline reductions hold across our two main materials. Producing rPET rather than virgin polyester uses 70 percent less energy and 86 percent less water, and produces 75 percent less CO2. Producing rPP rather than virgin polypropylene uses 88 percent less energy and 46 percent less water, and produces 71 percent less CO2. The per-order report puts numbers like these against the specific item you commissioned, so the figure you publish is one you can stand behind.
Production records on blockchain
Traceability is easier to promise than to produce. In our case the records are generated as the material moves through production, which means the buyer does not need to build or retrofit a platform to obtain them. The data exists because of how the order was made.
Those production records are held on blockchain, which is designed so that entries cannot be altered after the fact. The result is a production history a buyer can point to when a customer or an auditor asks how a finished product connects back to its recycled input.
Certifications, and what each one actually covers
Buyers get burned by treating certificates as interchangeable, so we say plainly what each of ours does and does not cover. We hold GRS certification at company level, which addresses recycled content and the custody of material through certified organisations. Our factories are certified to BSCI for social compliance, to GOTS where organic fibre content is involved, and to RDS where down is used.
A certificate demonstrates that an organisation or facility is certified for defined materials and processes. It does not, on its own, establish the composition of every product that organisation has made, which is why we pair certification with the order-level records described above rather than presenting a certificate as the whole answer.
The regulations your team is asking about
This is the part of the hub that grows as the rules develop. Rather than restate the legislation, we set out what each instrument asks of a buyer of recycled materials and point to the fuller guide.
PPWR
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 generally applies from 12 August 2026. Its minimum recycled content requirements for plastic packaging bind from 2030, with higher targets from 2040, and they count only material recovered from post-consumer waste. Our full guide sets out the questions to ask a recycled packaging supplier and the evidence a claim should rest on.
Digital Product Passports
Under ESPR, a delegated act for textiles is expected on an indicative 2027 timeline, with compliance following at least eighteen months after adoption, and the exact scope and data fields will be fixed by that act. We are building our per-order data so that the information a passport is likely to require already exists.
Where to start
If you are evaluating a recycled packaging supplier right now, the supplier questionnaire turns the questions on this page into a working document you can use during sourcing. If you are further along and want to discuss a specific programme, our team can walk through exactly what evidence would ship with your order.
Frequently asked questions
What proof do you provide that a product contains recycled material?
Depending on the material and product, an order is accompanied by a recycled content verification result for rPET, an Environmental Impact Report with per-order water, energy and carbon figures, production records held on blockchain, and the relevant certification and transaction records. The layers are meant to be read together rather than any one standing alone.
How is recycled content verified?
For rPET, our RA3 method determines the exact percentage of recycled PET bottle content in a sample. It is patent-pending and run in our own laboratory, and its methodology has been independently validated by Wessling. RA3 applies to rPET only. Recycled polypropylene and other materials stand on their own documentation, sourcing records and certification.
Is every material verified the same way?
No. RA3 verifies rPET recycled content specifically. rPP and rLDPE are evidenced through documentation, sourcing records and certification rather than through RA3, and we keep the materials and their proof distinct so that no claim borrows credibility from the wrong place.
Does this help with the EU's rules on green claims?
Yes. From 27 September 2026 the Empowering Consumers Directive requires environmental claims to be substantiated. Documented feedstock, verified recycled content, per-order impact figures and third-party certification are the kind of evidence that lets a claim meet that standard.
Do I have to ask for the documentation, or does it come automatically?
It is generated by how the order is produced, so it exists regardless. The relevant records ship with the order rather than being assembled after the fact.