Materials

TPU, PC or Silicone? Choosing Phone Case Materials for Wholesale

5 October 2026

Almost every wholesale phone case is made from one of three materials, or a combination of two. Which one you buy decides the price point, the customer's first impression, how long the product lasts — and how much compliance paperwork you need.

TPU — the flexible default

Thermoplastic polyurethane is the soft, slightly rubbery material behind most clear and translucent cases. It stretches, absorbs impact, and snaps onto a phone without tools.

• Strengths: good drop absorption, lowest tooling cost, works with almost any phone shape, excellent for slim everyday cases.
• Weaknesses: clear TPU yellows under UV light over time. It is a property of the material, not a manufacturing defect, and no factory can honestly promise otherwise.
• Compliance: RoHS and phthalate testing on the specific TPU grade you buy. Keep the report on file — EU buyers ask for it more often than for any other document.

PC — the rigid shell

Polycarbonate is the hard, thin, glossy or matte shell. It feels more "premium" in the hand and holds a printed design far more crisply than TPU.

• Strengths: sharp print definition, scratch resistance on the surface, does not yellow, excellent for graphic and branded designs.
• Weaknesses: brittle in cold weather, cracks on hard impact, and it does not absorb shock by itself.
• Compliance: same testing family as TPU — RoHS plus phthalates.

The combination — and why it dominates

The most common construction is a hard PC back plate bonded to a soft TPU rim. The TPU absorbs the drop, the PC holds the shape and carries the print. If you are buying one product to cover the widest range of customers, this is usually it.

Two-layer construction also creates the two-tone and magnetic-ring effects that sell well in accessory retail — a coloured rim visible against a different back plate, or a magnet ring embedded between the layers.

Silicone — the soft-touch outlier

True silicone cases are softer, grippier and more matte than TPU. They feel expensive and they resist fingerprints beautifully. Two things to know before you commit:

• They attract lint. Accept it — it is the same property that makes them grippy.
• They are a different production process. Silicone is generally compression or liquid-injection moulded, not standard injection moulded, which means different tooling and different minimums.

Do not assume the factory that injection moulds TPU also runs silicone. Ask.

Quick comparison

What EU buyers ask for

Two documents come up again and again:

1. A RoHS report covering the ten restricted substances, on the specific material — not on a related product from the same factory.
2. A phthalate / REACH SVHC statement covering the plasticisers used in soft materials. This is the one most often missing, because soft TPU and silicone are exactly where plasticisers live.

Ask for both before you order, and check the sample description line. A report that names a different product is not a document you can hand to a customer.

A note on product safety rules

A phone case is a passive accessory: no battery, no electronics, no radio. It is not a CE-marked product category, which is why you will not find a CE certificate on a plain case. What can apply, depending on who places the goods on the EU market, are general product safety obligations and packaging register duties. Those follow the importer, which is why the Incoterm you agree matters as much as the material you choose.