With a new year upon us, now’s the perfect time to think about what positive changes you can make.

With the devastating impact that human activity has been having on the planet now an inescapable truth, chances are that there are growing numbers of you out there thinking about how to reduce their carbon footprint.

If this is something you’re seriously thinking about, doing some planning is a wise idea. Moving towards zero waste is difficult and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to just wake up one day and get it right immediately.

Starting off small and taking baby steps is the best way to start so you can make bigger changes as time goes on.

Reviewing your behaviour and seeing where you create the most waste can be useful. If you know that you do a lot of clothes shopping and are concerned about the carbon footprint of the garments you buy, the good news is that you can immediately reduce this by visiting charity shops instead of buying everything brand-new.

Did you know that the carbon footprint of one new T-shirt is the same as driving your car 35 miles? You can really make a huge difference to your own footprint by heading to your local charity shop and buying second hand - and it’s certainly not true that you can’t bag serious bargains and find some incredible clothes when you do.

Have a read of this article in Metro if you don’t believe us, telling the tale of 29-year-old Nina Dixon from Blackburn who has succeeded in finding all sorts of designer brands like Givenchy, Ralph Lauren and Moschino while charity shopping.

She explained that 90 per cent of wardrobe is now secondhand and she is now championing this way of reusing and recycling clothes. Some of her best finds include a Barbour coat for £20 instead of £180, as well as Hugo Boss and Givenchy shirts for less than £5.

Ms Dixon said: “It’s not that I can’t afford to go somewhere else for clothes, it’s just that I get the fun and excitement out of finding something that’s a lot cheaper. I can get an outfit that looks just as good for a fiver rather than paying £50 - why wouldn’t anybody want to do that?

“It’s not only saving people money going to charity shops, but it’s also helping charity and the environment by keeping clothes out of landfill - it’s a win-win-win situation.”

So there you have it! If you’d like to bag a bargain and see what you can find, come and visit one of our charity shops. We have 11 locations in Worthing and its surrounding areas: www.guildcare.org/charity-shops