Guest blogger Ruby Lilith provides 5 fab reasons why she goes Charity Shopping…

I’ve always been a closet fan of charity shops – it used to be for the acquisition of Fair Trade chocolate, a miscellany of second-hand books and, on occasion, picking up an eye catching piece of jewellery from the counter under the till. It was a little voyage in curiosity which usually never led to anything more than eating orange-flavoured dark chocolate whilst flicking through a 1960’s edition of Dr Zhivago…

Now that I’m undertaking my affordable ethical fashion challenge #ethical366, I’ve taken to rolling up my sleeves at the doorway of every Barnardo’s Retail store and other charity shops, and have committed to the sustainable fashion ethos.

So you want five more reasons to take the plunge at your nearest Barnardo’s? Well I could talk about the immense bargains, the sense of self-satisfaction from knowing that your money is going to support good causes, the convenience (charity shops are everywhere) but, you all know all that. So here are five reasons to take a trip to a charity shop that you didn’t think of:

1. Expanding your knowledge: you learn to look at items with the eye of a connoisseur. You learn to recognize hallmarks, labels, signatures and, better still, you gain an awareness of what you really like. You’re away from your general assemble of clothes and preconceived fashion ideas and you start to know what you like and what you really think…

2. Unique look: While we’re speaking of copycat style – when you’re curating a range of diverse items, your look and your home won’t look like the Spring/Summer collection of every other high street brand because there is no pre-laid plan of how you ‘should’ look.

3. Developing accurate risk management skills: You learn to make judgement calls fast! Can that falling off button be fixed? Can you sponge and steam that dry-clean only dress?

4. Rifling through racks isn’t that bad: When you think back to when you’ve plundered jumble-sales like shop floors looking for low-priced new clothing produced by low-paid workers in factories, then flicking through clothes that have been gifted to be re-loved is not only a lesser shopping evil but a real shopping good.

5. That EUREKA moment: You’re an explorer, you’re the first woman on the moon, you’re a pirate who’s just found the spot marked by X! You’ve never owned cashmere/silk/couture before making this bargain find amazing, AND you’d never have thought you’d put it together with those shoes….

• Follow the author Ruby Lilith on Twitter @RubiesB4Swine or read the blog and discover more about the #ethical366 at quietradicals.wordpress.com