Recycled content: define what the claim covers
A paper, box wrap, structural board and complete package can use different materials. Establish what a percentage describes before turning it into packaging copy.
The image is a packaging-component concept, not evidence of an actual product’s recycled content or certification.
When reading a recycled-content figure, first identify its subject. Does it describe the fibre input, a sheet of paper, the wrapping paper or the complete box? These are different objects. A percentage detached from its scope can mean different things to a brand, a buyer and a customer.
Match the file to the grade
For a RECAST candidate, keep the grade, specification, document revision, source category and stated proportion in one record. Confirm the basis used for the figure or certification. Do not turn a fibre percentage into a whole-package percentage or add a post-consumer figure that the supplier has not documented.
Review each packaging component
Start a gift-box review with a component list: wrap, structural board, lining, insert card and other accessories. Confirming the wrap does not settle the remaining components. Similar colour, similar feel or a common supplier does not prove an identical fibre source.
Keep the scope in the wording
Keep the object and scope in the proposed wording. Where evidence covers only the wrapping paper, discuss a precise statement about that component. Where the intended statement covers the complete package, obtain evidence covering that construction. Retain the artwork, material and document revisions together so a material change does not leave an outdated statement on the pack.
Separate content from label eligibility
Does recycled fibre content automatically permit a certification label? No. Check composition information and label eligibility separately. FSC label guidance distinguishes the labels and the forest-based materials they cover. Follow the applicable certification and authorisation process rather than treating a label as general environmental decoration.
Define the objective in the brief
For a project enquiry, identify the recycled-content information you want to communicate, the packaging component concerned and the destination market. Establish the supported facts before finalising copy and artwork. Further reading: FSC UK label guidance. Material-specific statements must follow the selected grade and project documents.