Sustainability Language

Circular Economy & Materials

Virgin material

Virgin material is newly extracted, harvested or produced material that has not previously been used or recycled.

Established · Version 0.1

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Definition

Virgin material is newly extracted, harvested or produced material that has not previously been used or recycled.

Overview

What it means in practice

Virgin material should be read as a materials and circular-economy term. Its meaning depends on the product, material pathway, infrastructure and evidence behind the claim.

In practice, users should state the boundary, material route, measurement method and evidence. That keeps virgin material clear enough to support review without turning it into a broad claim.

Why it matters

Virgin material matters because circularity claims can influence design, procurement, consumer understanding and reporting. Clear wording helps distinguish real material outcomes from broad environmental language.

Common misconception

A common error is to treat Virgin material as proof of circularity by itself. The stronger approach is to state the material route, quality, scale and final use.

Review questions

What boundary or material route is being described? What evidence supports the term? What condition, timeframe or modelling choice should be stated before a reader relies on it?

Review

Public comments appear only after editor acceptance. Draft comments stay in the review queue.

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How people contribute

Reviewers choose the definition or an overview paragraph, leave a comment or replacement, and attach evidence or a source link.

How comments are used

Editors compare reviewer cards side by side. AI may help find agreement, conflicts, unsupported claims and possible source issues.

What gets published

Only an editor-accepted synthesis changes the public page. Reviewer identities are shown only with consent and verification.

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Submitted reviews stay private until accepted.

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Review board

Comment on a specific line. Each reviewer stays separate until an editor accepts a merged draft.

1Separate reviewer cards

Each person comments on the definition or overview in their own draft card, with role, evidence and suggested wording kept together.

2AI comparison

AI can compare comments against the current text, flag conflicting claims, surface missing evidence and identify where reviewers agree.

3Editor synthesis

An editor merges compatible suggestions into a draft change, checks sources, records disagreements and decides what can be published.

Text to reviewChoose the exact definition or overview paragraph.
Reviewer commentDraft only. Not public until editor accepted.
Definition
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Before you submit

This proposal follows the editorial and AI-assistance rules. The live definition will not change until an editor accepts it.

  • Add the proposed wording or note.
  • Explain why the change is needed.
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You can still save a draft, but completing these items makes editorial review faster. Multiple reviewers can suggest changes on the same text. Editors compare, merge, accept or decline them before any public change.