Guide to GS Guide to GS-1 Certification
Contents
1. additives chemicals used to manufacture the products to be certified Submit a summary of all papermaking additives used at the manufacturing facility including chemical name CAS and quantity used this may vary by requirement Supplier contact data name phone number email address is also required This data will be used to evaluate each of the criteria in section 4 5 Please use the Papermaking Additives template available in the Your Documents tab of the client portal 4 5 1 Processed Chlorine Free PCF The papermaking process used to produce the products shall be PCF DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide an attestation letter on company letterhead documenting that the entire papermaking process is processed chlorine free This attestation letter will also be supported by the papermaking additive submittal which should show no use of chlorine containing chemicals If your company has obtained third party certification regarding PCF also submit that certificate 4 5 2 Water Disinfection Chlorine derivatives and biocides may be used to disinfect the incoming fresh water supply and recycled process water Product testing is not required as long as the residual concentration of the chlorine derivatives and biocides used for disinfection is below the applicable maximum residual disinfectant levels MRDLs in the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations found in 40 CFR Part 141 at any location where chlorine derivatives and biocides are ad2. the conversion basis consisting of the number of sheets and the sheet size is provided so that a manufacturer can convert between the product in square feet and sheets per roll Any combination of sheet size and number of sheets is acceptable as long as the minimum product per roll package is met Alternatively different sizes that generate better package or shipping efficiency may be permitted provided that the manufacturer submits specifications to demonstrate that they have improved the packaging and shipping efficiency DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide the material specification of square feet of product per roll package for each product SKU that is submitted for certification or re certification Include the size of the individual sheet and the number of sheets per roll package Please use the Product Information template available in the Your Documents tab in the client portal for data submission TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 7 4 1 Fiber Requirements The fiber source shall meet one of the following a The product shall be made from 100 recovered material b The product shall be made from up to 85 agricultural residue with the balance made from post consumer material as required in section 4 2 herein c The product shall be made from any combination of recovered material and agricultural residue and the balance of the product shall meet the post consumer material requirement in section 4 2 herein DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Gr
3. with any applicable law or regulations This standard and any corresponding conformity assessment presumes compliance with all applicable laws and regulations DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide an attestation letter on company letterhead regarding any environmental regulation violations in the prior 6 months For re certification this letter should already have been provided to Green Seal so only a review and update is needed TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 4 This standard establishes environmental health and social requirements for sanitary paper products including paper towels general purpose wipes paper napkins bathroom tissue facial tissue toilet seat covers placemats tray liners table coverings and other sanitary paper products The standard covers products for institutional as well as retail markets This standard does not include nonwoven sanitary products general purpose disposable and flushable wipes containing cleaning agents or fragrances disposable diapers or sanitary napkins and tampons Examples of products included and excluded in the scope of GS 1 Products included in GS 1 Products excluded from GS 1 e Paper towels hardwound folded or e Nonwoven sanitary products kitchen roll e General purpose disposable and e Napkins beverage luncheon dinner flushable wipes that contain added e General purpose wipes that do not cleaning agents or fragrances contain any added cleaning agents or Facial tissue travel pack
4. Guide to GS 1 Certification Green Seal s Standard for Sanitary Paper Products TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 2 Reproduction of material in this guide without express written permission from Green Seal is prohibited For questions about GS 1 or any Green Seal Standard call 202 872 6400 email certification greenseal org or visit www greenseal org To apply for certification review the steps at http greenseal org getcertified index cfm Green Seal Inc e 1001 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 872 e Washington DC USA 20036 5525 202 872 6400 FAX 202 872 4324 www greenseal org 2011 Green Seal Inc All Rights Reserved TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 3 The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for product manufacturers seeking certification or re certification under the Green Seal Standard GS 1 Sanitary Paper Products This document does not replace the standard as the source of information and requirements for certification Please refer to the complete Green Seal Standard for Sanitary Paper Products GS 1 for additional details GreenBusiness Standards aspx vid ViewStandardDetail amp cid O0 amp sid 25 The layout of this document corresponds to the criteria in the Green Seal Standard for Sanitary Paper Products GS 1 Third edition issued December 15 2010 The criterion of the standard is listed in bold and then any notes tips or documentation that is required will be listed and should b
5. ON 17 7 1 Disposal The manufacturer s label shall include a statement encouraging proper disposal of the product and encouraging recycling of appropriate packaging If plastic the packaging must be marked with the appropriate Society of the Plastics Industry symbol to identify the type of plastic for recycling If the symbol is in a conspicuous location the appropriate qualification of recyclability is required as referenced in 6 1 such as This product may not be recyclable in your area see if accepted by your local program or only a few communities accept this package for recycling check with your local program DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Submit your labels electronically for review Proper disposal language may include Please recycle excess or unused product Used product should be discarded Encourage recycling of number 1 number 2 and number 4 plastic paper paperboard and containerboard corrugated cardboard See the FTC guidelines for assistance with appropriate language http www ftc gov bcp edu microsites energy about guides shtml 7 2 Statement of Basis of Certification Whenever the product claims to be certified to this standard it shall be based on a third party certification program with an on site auditing program and shall state unless otherwise approved in writing by Green Seal This product meets the Green Seal Standard for Sanitary Paper Products GS 1 manufactured using environmentally an
6. d socially responsible processes and made from YY with a minimum of XX post consumer material Where YY is the material used i e 100 recovered material 85 agricultural residue and where XX is the verified minimum level of post consumer material DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Green Seal does not require the use of the Green Seal certification mark However use of the certification mark or other claims regarding certification to this standard shall be qualified with this statement Green Seal may allow alternate language for the basis of certification statement but any changes must be approved first in writing Note that the percentages of material allowed to be stated will be based on consistently documentable results e g if you often use 45 post consumer material in the manufacture of bathroom tissue but sometimes only use 30 then you will only be allowed to state the 30
7. ded to the papermaking process Biocides must be registered with the EPA or the Pest Management Regulatory Agency PMRA DOCUMENTATION NEEDED In addition to providing the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously provide the calculations showing the quantity of disinfectant used e g chemical used pounds or milligrams quantity of water treated liters or million gallons water concentration so that the Certification Project Manager can verify the concentration Alternately provide testing data for any location where chlorine derivatives and biocides are added to the papermaking process documenting the residual concentration s Also provide the necessary registration documentation for any biocides See the example calculation template provided in the Your Documents tab TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 10 4 5 3 Carcinogens Mutagens and Reproductive Toxins The papermaking process shall not contain any papermaking additives or contaminants that are carcinogens mutagens or reproductive toxins or that are known to produce or release carcinogens mutagens or reproductive toxins An exception shall be made for titanium dioxide and carbon black used in colorants DOCUMENTATION NEEDED No additional documentation is needed beyond the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously 4 5 4 Optical Brighteners Optical brighteners may be used as a papermaking additive at a dosage not to exceed 200 parts per million 0 02 by weigh
8. e level of contaminants and the cleaning and deinking technology employed The percentage yield shall be calculated by dividing the total material output by the total material input The percentage of recovered material or agricultural residue and post consumer material shall be calculated based on a weighted average of the materials used for a period of time not to exceed the previous three months DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Green Seal will require documentation from suppliers regarding the sources of fiber and the grades of material that are post consumer Options include an attestation letter from the supplier or a combination of representative attestation letters and purchasing specifications purchase orders providing descriptions of the sources if dealing with multiple suppliers Provide the data to be used for the post consumer material calculations including run records documenting the material usage and yield data Provide the most recent three month average for the data If the product is made less frequently than 3 months and only 1 run is done within 3 months that run should meet the post consumer content requirement The calculation of percentage post consumer material will be made by the Certification Project Manager TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 9 4 4 Source Reduction Reserved DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Not applicable 4 5 Material Processing DOCUMENTATION NEEDED The material processing criteria relate to the papermaking
9. e submitted as part of the certification or re certification application Data submission will be done electronically through a web based system Please review the Green Seal Client Portal User Manual this manual will be provided to you by your Project Manager in their introductory email and discuss the process with your assigned Certification Project Manager Documentation of the manufacturing facility including the company organizational chart facility description employee and production capacity and process flow chart or diagram is a requirement of the facility audit See the certification checklist for more details DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide copies of the company organizational chart facility description employee production capacity and process flow chart or diagram to the site auditor by uploading these documents through the client portal For re certification this material has already been provided to Green Seal so only a review and update is required The requirements in the standard are based on an assessment of the environmental health or social impacts associated with the products services or organizations covered in the scope of the standard The requirements included in the standard are subject to revision Provisions for safety have not been included in this standard This standard neither modifies nor supersedes laws and regulations Compliance with this Standard is not a substitute for and does not assure compliance
10. een Seal will require documentation from suppliers regarding the sources of fiber Options include an attestation letter from the supplier or a combination of representative attestation letters and purchasing specifications purchase orders providing descriptions of the sources if dealing with multiple suppliers For re certification this documentation should already have been provided to Green Seal so only a review and update is needed if any sources of fiber have changed For integrated mills where whitewater and or wastewater recovery may cause contamination of the incoming recovered material furnish stock reclaimed mixed fibers containing virgin material may be acceptable as long as it can be shown through mass balance calculations that the amount of virgin fiber in the reclaimed mixed fibers is less than 0 5 of the incoming recovered material furnish stock DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide detailed mass balance calculations to show that the virgin fiber addition from the whitewater or wastewater recovery is less than 0 5 of the incoming furnish Please include a detailed process flow diagram and be prepared to walk through the calculations with the Certification Project Manager during the review For agricultural residue the manufacturer shall document the original source of the material and the agricultural residue shall originate from a crop certified to the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard or other approved th
11. eir paper supplier if they are not manufacturing the paper themselves Also document that heavy metals are present at less than 100 ppm by weight in colorants used for printing of towels napkins placemats and other table coverings The Certification Project Manager may need to contact the supplier of the printing inks colorants to obtain this information TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 11 4 5 6 Biodegradability Any papermaking additives used in the papermaking process except for inorganic compounds polymers optical brighteners and biocides shall exhibit ready biodegradability in accordance with the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development OECD definition as follows Biodegradability shall be measured according to any of the following methods ISO 7827 9439 10707 10708 9408 14593 OECD Methods 301A F or OECD 310 Specifically within a 28 day test the ingredient shall meet one of the following criteria e Removal of Dissolved Organic Carbon DOC gt 70 e Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD gt 60 e of BOD of Theoretical Oxygen Demand ThOD gt 60 e Carbon Dioxide CO2 evolution of theoretical gt 60 For papermaking additives that do not exhibit ready biodegradability in these tests the manufacturer may demonstrate biodegradability in sewage treatment plants using the Coupled Units Test found in OECD 303A by demonstrating DOC removal gt 90 An exception shall be made for papermaking additives t
12. frequency and units consistent with permit requirements and also provide the permit limits The data may be submitted in any format that your facility uses but should be a format that is readable and understandable by the Certification Project Manager TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 14 5 3 Effective as of January 1 2012 Manufacturing and Converting Requirements Water and Energy Use Manufacturers shall meet the following fresh water and energy use criteria for combined processes including re pulping deinking papermaking product converting and waste treatment on site or off site facilities If a manufacturer only does converting then the energy and water use for the other processes re pulping deinking papermaking and waste treatment shall be supplied by the manufacturer of the parent roll If a manufacturer purchases market de inked pulp MDIP then the supplier of the MDIP will be required to provide the energy and water use data associated with production of the MDIP The data shall represent either the total annual resource used divided by the total annual production of paper or the total annual resource used to produce all grades of certified paper divided by the total annual production of all grades of certified paper This implies that estimation and allocation methods are acceptable Fresh Water Use gallons ton of Total Energy Use millions BTUs final product ton of final product 19 250 17 0 a gallon
13. gram DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide a letter from your supplier s documenting the type of packaging and the amount of recovered or pre post consumer materials If the level for plastic packaging is below the requirement you must provide a letter from your supplier stating that they are using the most pre post consumer material that is practicable For plastic packaging only SPI code number 1 number 2 and number 4 plastic are considered recyclable based on FTC requirements If source reduction is the claim for plastic packaging please provide the weight of the current package and the weight of the comparable marketplace package The weights must be for comparable product units e g 4 roll package of bathroom tissue 6 2 Colorants Packaging may be printed using colorants provided that these colorants contain a sum concentration of less than 100 parts per million by weight 0 01 of lead mercury cadmium and hexavalent chromium DOCUMENTATION NEEDED For colorants used in packaging provide the colorant MSDS and any documentation that you may have showing that the heavy metals are less than 100 ppm by weight The Certification Project Manager may have to contact suppliers on a confidential basis to obtain data TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 16 6 3 Heavy Metal Restrictions Heavy metals including lead mercury cadmium and hexavalent chromium shall not be intentionally introduced in packaging Further the sum of the concentra
14. hat do not exhibit ready biodegradability if the additive has low aquatic toxicity acute LC50 gt 100 mg L for algae daphnia or fish and exhibits inherent biodegradability per ISO test methods 9887 or 9888 or OECD 302A C DOCUMENTATION NEEDED In addition to the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously additional data or testing may be required if the Certification Project Manager cannot find publically available biodegradability data 4 5 7 Additional Prohibited Substances The papermaking process shall not contain the following substances as papermaking additives or contaminants e Chlorophenolic Biocides e Fragrances e Heavy metals including but not limited to lead chromium or selenium both in the elemental form or compounds e Ozone depleting compounds DOCUMENTATION NEEDED No additional documentation is needed beyond the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 12 5 1 Social Responsibility Documentation must be provided that the production of the product meets the following social responsibility requirements 5 1 1 Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Workers shall have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and their right to bargain collectively shall be recognized and respected 5 1 2 Freedom of Labor There shall not be forced or bonded labor or use of child labor 5 1 3 Freedom from Discrimination There shall not be d
15. ird party certification program DOCUMENTATION NEEDED If agricultural residue is being used for any portion of the fiber provide documentation from the supplier such as an attestation letter documenting the original source of the material e g Company X is using bagasse as a fiber source which originated from sugar cane fields in Florida Also provide the certificate or other documentation showing that the originating crop e g the sugar cane fields in Florida are certified to the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard or other approved third party certification program e g the Better Sugar Cane Initiative TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 8 4 2 Post Consumer Material Requirements Products made from recovered material shall meet the following requirements Product Type Post Consumer Material Requirement Paper Towels General Purpose Wipes and Napkins 50 Bathroom Tissue 25 Facial Tissue 15 Toilet Seat Covers 25 Placemats Tray liners 40 Table Coverings 40 4 3 Post Consumer Material Calculations The percentage of post consumer material shall be calculated and certified based on the fiber weight of the paper The calculation of recycled content based on fiber weight shall be performed using the following formula for post consumer material Post consumer Material x Yieldpc_ Recovered Material or Agricultural Residue x Yield Yield will depend on the product manufactured the raw material th
16. iscrimination in terms of race color sex religion age disability gender marital status sexual orientation union membership political opinion national extraction or social origin such that it affects the opportunity or treatment in employment and there shall be no support or tolerance of corporal punishment physical or verbal coercion sexual or other harassment intimidation or exploitation 5 1 4 Occupational Health and Safety A safe and hygienic workplace environment shall be provided with access to potable water Adequate steps shall be taken to minimize the hazards of the workplace and workers shall receive health and safety training to prevent accidents and injury 5 1 5 Conditions of Employment Workers shall work under fair conditions of employment Wages working hours and overtime shall meet at a minimum the national legal or industry benchmark standard and regular employment shall be provided DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide an attestation letter on company letterhead documenting social responsibility requirements Also provide a copy of your company policy referring to such matters If your company has obtained certification under the International Labor Organisation also submit that certificate A converter and paper supplier may need to submit separate data TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 13 5 2 Manufacturing and Converting Reporting Requirements The following information shall be reported for processes including re
17. pulping deinking papermaking product converting and waste treatment on site or off site facilities on an annual basis or when any changes are made to the processes If a manufacturer only does converting then the supplier of the parent rolls will be required to provide additional relevant data The facility shall also provide their total annual production of paper data as tons 5 1 1 Air Monitoring Air monitoring data shall be reported as required by the facility s air permit The data shall be reported at the frequency and units specified in the permit and the associated permit limits for monitored parameters shall be provided 5 1 2 Wastewater Monitoring Wastewater monitoring data shall be reported as required by the facility s wastewater permit The data shall be reported at the frequency and units specified in the permit and the associated permit limits for monitored parameters shall be provided 5 2 3 Solid Waste Solid waste shall be reported as the tons of material entering an external solid waste disposal stream as an annual total Solid waste such as waste packaging materials that cannot be recycled shall be reported as tons based on the as disposed weight Solid waste such as wastewater solids shall be reported as dry tons i e wet tons multiplied by the fractional solids content DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide air monitoring wastewater monitoring and solid waste data as required by your facility permits Include the
18. s fragrances Bathroom tissue Cotton balls cosmetic pads Disposable diapers Facial tissue flat box and cube box Sanitary napkins and tampons Toilet seat covers Printing and writing paper covered in Placemats or tray liners GS 7 Table coverings Newsprint covered in GS 15 e Paper products used in the preparation of food covered in GC 8 e Coated printing paper covered in GS 10 DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Make sure that the product s you want Green Seal to certify meet the scope Provide name and type of product with corresponding SKU numbers in application Products already certified to GS 1 1992 and GS 9 1993 undergoing re certification are likely to meet the scope requirements TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 5 3 1 Product Performance Product performance requirements shall be consistently measured on either the unconverted parent roll or converted product depending on facility procedures Testing shall be conducted under controlled and reproducible laboratory conditions In addition to the measured performance requirements the product shall be made in accordance with reasonable industry practice 3 1 1 Basis Weight grammage Basis weight grammage shall be measured according to Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry TAPPI T 410 or International Organization for Standardization ISO 536 and shall meet the requirements in the standard when measured as grams per square meter g m SI Units or pound
19. s T 0 00417 m3 MT b millions of British Thermal Units BTUs T 1 16 Gigajoules GJ MT 323 2 kilowatt hour kwh MT DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide energy and water use data for your facility for the processes listed in the standard You may need to contact suppliers or your local wastewater treatment plant to gather data so please allow enough time You may either report the total resource used or allocate it to certified grades of paper Please use the Energy and Water template available in the Your Documents tab in the client portal for data submission 5 4 Distribution Reserved DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Not applicable TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 15 6 1 Primary and Secondary Packaging Primary and Secondary packaging shall meet the following requirements based on the packaging material type e Packaging made from paper or paperboard shall be recyclable and made from 100 recovered material e Packaging made from containerboard corrugated cardboard shall be recyclable and made from at least 30 recovered material e Packaging made from plastic shall be recyclable or source reduced by 20 or shall contain 25 recovered material content pre or post consumer Where a product s packaging is below these levels the manufacturer must demonstrate that efforts have been made to use the maximum available pre or post consumer material in packaging An exception shall be made for packaging with an effective take back pro
20. s ream Ibs ream English units 3 1 2 Tensile Strength Dry and Wet Product characteristics shall be measured for tensile strength in the machine direction MD and cross direction CD using the methods described in either section 3 1 2 1 or section 3 1 2 2 3 1 2 1 Tensile strength using TAPPI T 494 456 Product characteristics shall meet the requirements in standard when tested according to TAPPI T 494 or ISO 1924 3 dry tensile strength and TAPPI T 456 wet tensile strength as measured in gram force inch gf in English units 3 1 2 2 Tensile strength using TAPPI T 576 Product characteristics shall meet the requirements in the standard when tested according to TAPPI T 576 dry and wet tensile strength as measured in gf 3 in English units 3 1 3 Stretch and Water Absorbency Product characteristics shall be measured for or water absorbency when tested according to TAPPI T 494 or ISO 1924 3 or TAPPI T 576 for stretch and TAPPI T 432 for water absorbency and shall meet the requirements in the standard as measured in stretch or seconds of water absorbency DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide product performance test results for basis weight tensile strength wet and dry stretch and water absorbency Test results should be for the products to be certified and units should be included Provide as applicable the test report stating the test method used date of test product ID testor ID whether the testing was done on the uncon
21. t as added to the papermaking process This level does not include any optical brighteners that may be present in the furnish through the use of recovered materials DOCUMENTATION NEEDED In addition to providing the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously provide the calculations showing the quantity of optical brightener used e g chemical use per furnish batch pounds or milligrams quantity of process water in furnish batch liters or million gallons concentration in process water so that the Certification Project Manager can verify the dosage concentration Please see the example calculation template provided in the Your Documents tab 4 5 5 Colorants The product shall not contain any colorants as papermaking additives an exception shall be made for products that would not contain colorants but from the addition of recovered materials Further paper towels and general purpose wipes paper napkins and placemats and other table coverings may be printed with colorants provided that these colorants contain a sum concentration of less than 100 parts per million by weight 0 01 of heavy metals including lead mercury cadmium and hexavalent chromium DOCUMENTATION NEEDED In addition to providing the papermaking additive summary mentioned previously provide documentation that colorants are not used as papermaking additives through an attestation letter or other method A converter would need to obtain documentation from th
22. tion levels of these metals present shall not exceed 100 parts per million by weight 0 01 an exception shall be made for packages that would not exceed this maximum level but for the addition of recovered materials Further intentional introduction does not include the use of one of the metals as a processing aid or intermediate to impart certain chemical or physical changes during manufacturing where the incidental retention of a residual of that metal in the final packaging or packaging component is not desired or deliberate if the final packaging or packaging component complies with the incidental concentration restrictions of 100 ppm 6 4 Other Restrictions Phthalates bisphenol A and chlorinated packaging material are prohibited from being intentionally introduced in packaging an exception shall be made for packages with added phthalates bisphenol A or chlorinated packaging material solely from the addition of post consumer material DOCUMENTATION NEEDED Provide a letter or letters from your packaging supplier s documenting that heavy metals phthalates bisphenol A and chlorinated packaging material are not being intentionally introduced Suppliers may modify the Conference of Northeastern Governors CONEG Sample Certificate of Compliance letter http www toxicsinpackaging org certificates of compliance html to include the additional requirements beyond heavy metals or submit separate letters TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATI
23. verted or converted sheet and any testing results summary Please use the Product Information and Product Performance templates to transmit your data These templates can be found in the Your Documents tab in the client portal This is a new requirement in the standard so all data are needed for those companies seeking certification or re certification TBD GUIDE TO GS 1 CERTIFICATION 6 3 2 Alternative Product Performance Alternative test methods may be allowed for sanitary paper products or categories not specified in this standard A manufacturer must provide documented rationale for use of the method The method must be an objective scientifically validated method conducted under controlled and reproducible laboratory conditions The results of the testing must meet performance ranges that are considered reasonable industry practice DOCUMENTATION NEEDED The alternative product performance section allows the user flexibility in testing requirements if a different method is used or if the product category is not listed in the tables in the standard Data submittal is similar to those for section 3 1 but requires complete documentation of the test method used as well as a presentation of available industry test results to show the results fall within reasonable industry range 3 3 Product Specifications Products must contain the minimum material specifications i e minimum product per roll package listed in the standard Note that
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