Environmental issues are becoming increasingly alarming in the current climate. The Alternative Materials studio emphasizes the use of novel materials that have not been widely used in the construction and manufacturing industries, striving to provide new opportunities to the field. The exploration begins with researching materials and techniques to identify a potential arena that may yield tangible outcomes. Next, students engage in a deeper understanding of the chosen materials to demonstrate their full potential, including organic, plant-based, recycled, recyclable, waste-generated, composite, biodegradable, circular, and low footprint. By considering environmental, social, and cultural contexts, the studio addresses sustainability in design, to reflect how we exploit resources, manufacture goods and consume products, and seek to use alternative materials. Project description: Global tea production has reached 6.5 million tons in 2021, and 3 million tons of tea waste is generated annually with China accounting for 47% of global output. Left alone this Tea Waste would have decomposed in the landfill, so we set out to see the potential of using Tea Waste as an alternative material. We used varying tea leaves such as Black, Green, Genmai, and Oolong tea donated by local bubble tea shops. And from our experiments, we were able to produce hard and rigid-like materials, that had a marble-like appearance, using Starch, Water, Vinegar, and Glycerine. Our experiments continued further to stop mold, create different sculptures, and finally create furniture that people could sit on. We sadly ran out of time to fully actualize a piece of furniture that was purely made with our TEA-ramic but we learned a lot in the process.