THINGS. They’re everywhere! And in our modern age, we’re constantly being pushed to buy more of them, like the hottest fashion or the flashiest new phone. But the true cost of “stuff” is much more than the sticker price we see on the shelf. Dan reveals the hidden fees behind our smartphones, and who’s paying them, and takes us through the life cycle of a simple cotton T-shirt—from seedling to sweat-stained—while sharing tips on how you can be a sustainable shopper. Find the text transcript for this episode at go.ted.com/TC4 TED Climate is produced and edited by Sheena Ozaki, mixed by Sam Bair, and hosted by Dan Kwartler. This episode adapted two lessons originally produced in animated form by the TED-Ed team. "The lifecycle of a t-shirt" was written by Angel Chang, and "What's in your smartphone?" was written by Kim Preshoff. Both pieces were produced with editorial support from Emma Bryce and Alex Rosenthal, and fact-checked by Francisco Diez. Special thanks to Gerta Xhelo, Michelle Quint, Banban Cheng, and Anna Phelan.