Retailers Tap Holiday Giving Spirit

In this handout photo provided by the GAP, a RED candle is shown. GAP is one of a number of retailers this year who are tapping into consumers desire to do good deeds with their purchasing dollars. For the first time, many brand name companies are pledging to use money made from select products to support humanitarian causes. For the GAP, filling that demand means donating half the profits from all items marked with a Product Red label, to the Global Fund to fight AIDs. (AP Photo/Gap Inc.) (AP)

"A Gap long-sleeved T-shirt that last week cost $14.50, now goes for $45... meaning the company still gets an extra $8 of your money on an absurdly overpriced piece of cloth," Medved writes.

Other online critics point out that since most of the money from red products will go toward buying medicine for AIDS victims in Africa, the campaign will help bankroll pharmaceutical companies who are unwilling to distribute their drugs for free.

So what's the payoff for participating in an effort that attracts such tough scrutiny?

"I've always said 'doing good is good business', and I recommend it to my clients," said Britt Beamer, chairman of marketing firm America's Research Group.

According to Beamer, the positive feedback generated by charitable outreach always offsets any dollar loss to the company.

"What's important is what it says about our brand," said Brad Stevens, Starbuck Corp.'s vice president of U.S. Marketing.

The Seattle-based coffee giant recently kicked off an effort to hand out 10,000 cards called "cheer passes" daily, asking recipients to perform one act of kindness for someone else and pass the card along. The drive is not tied to any cause and the cards are not reedemable for merchandise, but recipients can track their card's progress online.

"It says that we at Starbucks are willing to use our resources to try and start this chain of good will," said Stevens.

Twenty years ago the majority of Americans said the measure of a reputable company was the number of years it had been in business, according to Beamer. Today only six percent of Americans judge a business by its longevity.

"I think consumers saw all these big companies go out of business _ the Montgomery Wards of the world _ and concluded that the measure of a quality company had to be something more," Beamer said.

Some businesses have begun promoting the way they treat their workers as the measure of their quality as a company.

In fact, the founders of startup clothing company Fair Indigo have based their entire business strategy on the idea that consumers will seek out merchandise made by people working for decent wages.