Christmas is the season to buy buy buy! We’re all wise to the fact that at this time of year shops fall over themselves to create special festive products and add kudos to their brands by endorsing charities.
First there’s the good old fashioned Christmas card. But did you know there is a huge difference between how much retailers give to charity? According to Which? magazine the top scrooges are Co-op, who give just 10p of their £1.50 pack of cards to food poverty charity FareShare. At the other end of the scale WH Smith give 100% of the profits from their BBC Children in Need range to the foundation. Yet interestingly, the other charities they support (Marie Curie, RSPCA and Save the Children) only get 10 to 20%.
We put our cynical Santa hat on and had a nosey at Paperchase. With a Christmas card section specifically dedicated to charity, it’s the equivalent of a pick ‘n’ mix. Each card is marked with one of the 20 or so causes they support, including the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Farm Africa, Hospice UK, and Mind. They give between 13 and 15% of their profits away.
And then there are the sandwiches. At Pret A Manger the unveiling of the festive sarnie is such a big occasion their website featured a very 21st century version of the advent calendar. From early November customers could add a reminder to their email for the launch date (not in a groupie-like way, it was for a free sandwich). 50p of each £3.60 one sold goes to one of the five charities they support. These are indicated on the stickers.
But aside from Pret, the only other major sandwich retailer giving money to charity is M&S. 5% of sales from their special festive range go to homelessness charity Shelter.
Who do you buy Christmas sandwiches or cards from? Do you carefully select which charity you're supporting? Or would you rather give the money directly to a charity, and shun Christmas items altogether?
Let us know on our forum – does charity begin at the shops?
