Some of the country's richest shops, including Harrods and Liberty of Regent Street, are the christmas card scrooges this year. Only three per cent of profits from some of their 'charity' cards go to charity. But cards from well-known high-street names like WHSmith, Clinton Cards are giving up to 25 per cent away to good causes.
Intelligent Giving researcher Neill Ghosh said: "Thankfully this year the shops which are accessible to most people are also the ones with the most generous streak."
Harrods and Liberty explain their unseasonal behaviour by saying that the percentage is negotiated between the card printers and the charities, and they have little to do with the resulting figure. But the Intelligent Giving website says that retailers could easily ask the percentage to be higher. They also say that since there is a limit to the number of cards bought each year, every card bought which gives away three per cent means one less card which gives away 25 per cent.
According to Intelligent Giving the very best way to buy charity cards is from charities' websites themselves or from not-for-profit sites including
- Card Aid [1]
- Cards for Good Causes [2]
- Combined Charities Christmas Shops [3]
All our top ten cards benefit charities we rate highly, and all come from sources where you can be sure that a good chunk of the purchase price will actually go to the relevant charity.
Read our complete list of the top ten cards [3]
Ends
> Read our related article, 'Fat cats cash in on charity cards' [3]
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