What happens when a mall falls into ruin? Filmmaker Dan Bell guides us through abandoned monoliths of merchandise, providing a surprisingly funny and lyrical commentary on consumerism, youth culture and the inspiration we can find in decay.

Forget about Black Friday. Step away from the mall and watch these talks on consumerism ... and why it's not always the best thing.

Downloadable, printable clothing may be coming to a closet near you. What started as designer Danit Peleg's fashion school project turned into a collection of 3D-printed designs that have the strength and flexibility for everyday wear. "Fashion is a very physical thing," she says. "I wonder what our world will look like when our clothes will be ...

China is a huge laboratory of innovation, says retail expert Angela Wang, and in this lab, everything takes place on people's phones. Five hundred million Chinese consumers -- the equivalent of the combined populations of the US, UK and Germany -- regularly make purchases via mobile platforms, even in brick-and-mortar stores. What will this tran...

Shopping is about more than just what you buy: it's a treasure hunt to discover something new, a negotiation to get a great deal, a time to catch up with friends and family. But for many, online shopping has turned the experience into an impersonal, unsatisfactory event. Is there a way to bring back the magic? With exciting examples from compani...

What should you do with your paycheck? These talks offer reframes to help you save, spend and give — with intention.

For a full year, A.J. Jacobs followed every piece of health advice he could -- from applying sunscreen by the shot glass to wearing a bicycle helmet while shopping. Onstage at TEDMED, he shares the surprising things he learned.

Mick Mountz is the founder and CEO of Kiva Systems, making high-tech products for fast, cheap and efficient inventory fulfillment. In March 2012, Kiva was acquired by Amazon.

Venture down the catwalk with these talks all about the creatively wild world of fashion.

Josh Luber is the founder of Campless, a company that collects, analyzes and publishes data and derived insight related to collectible sneakers and the industry.

In his book "The Dark Net," Jamie Bartlett investigates Internet subcultures, both legal and illegal.

Business in Africa is booming -- but international companies are missing out, says emerging markets expert Nomava Zanazo. Rushing in without knowing their customers, businesses underestimate Africans and make costly assumptions about their diversity, preferences and buying power. Sharing the basics about what companies need to know to succeed on...

Danit Peleg created the first 3D-printed fashion collection printed entirely using home printers.

When TED Fellow Xavier Vilalta was commissioned to create a multistory shopping mall in Addis Ababa, he panicked. Other centers represented everything he hated about contemporary architecture: wasteful, glass towers requiring tons of energy whose design had absolutely nothing to do with Africa. In this charming talk, Vilalta shows how he champio...

Customers want to feel what they buy is authentic, but "Mass Customization" author Joseph Pine says selling authenticity is tough because, well, there's no such thing. He talks about a few experiences that may be artificial but make millions anyway.

Josh Luber is a "sneakerhead," a collector of rare or limited sneakers. With their insatiable appetite for exclusive sneakers, these tastemakers drive marketing and create hype for the brands they love, specifically Nike, which absolutely dominates the multi-billion dollar secondary market for sneakers. Luber's company, Campless, collects data a...

We make millions of online purchases daily, but who (or what) actually puts our items into packages? In this talk, Mick Mountz weaves a fascinating, surprisingly robot-filled tale of what happens inside a warehouse.

Online retailers resort to all kinds of strategies to separate you from your hard-earned money. Behavioral scientist Wendy De La Rosa names three tactics to look out for -- and shares how you can keep yourself from falling for them.

In a 1990's study, participants recalled getting lost in a shopping mall as children. Some shared these memories in vivid detail, but there was one problem: none of these people had actually gotten lost in a mall. They produced these false memories after psychologists told them they'd gotten lost and parents confirmed it. So what's going on? Dan...

Budgeting is the best way to get your spending under control, right? Behavioral scientist Wendy De La Rosa says there are actually better ways to limit your purchases -- and get more satisfaction from them.

As founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos defined online shopping and rewrote the rules of commerce, ushering in a new era in business. Time magazine named him Man of the Year in 1999.

When you can't sleep, you're desperate for help. And there's a booming industry waiting to tell you all the ways a lack of sleep can ruin your health -- and to sell you fancy gadgets to help you finally doze off. Shedding light on this flawed doomsday messaging, Dr. Jen Gunter explains why you shouldn't lose sleep over sleep -- and what to do in...

Supply chain challenges are real, but they're not new, says global trade expert Dustin Burke. In the face of disruptions ranging from natural disasters to pandemics, how do we make sure supply chains can keep up? Burke offers a combination of solutions -- from companies sharing risk to better forecasting disruptions -- to help create a more resi...

Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode of TED Climate, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best -- paper, plastic or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Host Dan Kwartler breaks down the pros and cons of each bag and which you...

Your favorite pair of jeans -- the ones you refuse to throw out -- are actually a part of a global climate solution, says fashion entrepreneur Josephine Philips. When you value your existing clothes instead of chasing the latest trends, you help reduce waste and protect our planet for generations to come. Learn more about the impacts of what you...

Global consumer strategist Aparna Bharadwaj shares a fascinating glimpse at under-the-radar affinities that transcend cultures and borders -- from the way people snack in China and Saudi Arabia to how people shop for clothes in the US and Russia. "There are patterns where you least expect them," she says -- and paying attention to them just migh...

What makes us incessantly check our phones? Adam Alter dives into the fascinating psychology that drives our tech addictions.

Almost everything we own and use, at some point, travels to us by container ship, through a vast network of ocean routes and ports that most of us know almost nothing about. Journalist Rose George tours us through the world of shipping, the underpinning of consumer civilization.

Barcelona-based architect Xavier Vilalta works in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He adopts and updates traditional design principles to construct modern buildings that truly suit their environment.

There's a parallel Internet you may not have run across yet -- accessed by a special browser and home to a freewheeling collection of sites for everything from anonymous activism to illicit activities. Jamie Bartlett reports from the dark net.