TCL ECORA: Porcelain based plastic

Chris Lefteri Design x TCL

We collaborated with TCL to develop TCL ECORA, a material that transforms industrial waste into a new design language. Our shared ambition was to create a material that not only reduces environmental impact but also carries a compelling narrative — one rooted in history, craft, and the expressive potential of colour.

Reclaiming Waste, Rebuilding Meaning

The story begins in Jingdezhen, the world’s “Porcelain Capital,” where centuries of ceramic production continue today. This remarkable heritage also generates an enormous amount of waste — more than 60,000 metric tons of discarded porcelain each year.

Rather than treating this cultural residue as landfill, we saw the possibility to give it purpose.

Working with TCL, we re-imagined this waste as a new composite material. By grinding the porcelain into fine powder and reintegrating it into a polymer base, we created TCL ECORA — a material that preserves the memory of traditional craft while performing as a modern industrial solution. ECORA is not simply recycled; it is reinterpreted. Every particle is a trace of history, carried forward into a new chapter.

Colour as Storytelling: From Ceramic Traditions to Contemporary CMF

The colour direction for TCL ECORA draws deeply from Chinese ceramic heritage. We were inspired by the expressive identity of Jingdezhen porcelain and translated these references into a new CMF system that celebrates both culture and circularity.

Yuan Dynasty - Blue and White Porcelain

The iconic cobalt blue of Yuan-dynasty Blue and White porcelain becomes a modern speckled surface: a crisp white ground animated by blue mineral fragments from the recycled ceramic itself. This creates a surface that feels fresh, technical, and unmistakably rooted in history.

Qing Dynasty – Famille Rose Porcelain

The delicate tones of Qing-dynasty fencai porcelain guided the development of warm, multicoloured speckles. These palettes soften the composite and create emotional warmth — a visual counterbalance to the material’s stone-like tactility.

Each colourway allows the waste fragments to remain visible, celebrating them rather than concealing them. In TCL ECORA, colour is not an applied finish — it is a narrative about where the material comes from and what it becomes.

A New Vision for Circular CMF

Our collaboration with TCL demonstrates how circular design can move beyond efficiency toward emotional value, storytelling, and brand identity. TCL ECORA transforms waste into a premium aesthetic language, grounding future-facing technology in centuries of craft.

It proves that materials can carry narratives — and that sustainability, when designed with intention, can be both beautiful and meaningful.

Material Performance With Cultural Substance

Beyond its story, TCL ECORA is engineered for real-world products. Incorporating ceramic waste increases surface hardness, giving the material a stone-like durability and tactile depth. Despite its unique composition, TCL ECORA is a drop-in material, meaning it works with existing manufacturing processes and tooling.

Our aim was to combine cultural heritage, circular thinking, and industrial practicality into a single material expression — and ECORA achieves exactly that.