Choose your charity: it’s capitalism with its heart on its sleeve.

The Hunger Site started way back in 1999 as a commerce site which donated profits to charity. It initially fared well, was hit hard when the dot-com bubble burst, and was subsequently bought up by CharityUSA.com (not a charity, mind) in 2001 for a cool million dollars. The revamped business model is pragmatic and admirable - the site (and its plethora of choices) operates to donate. Hard to argue with that.

Original click-to-donate schemes are still going strong - but the emphasis is now on providing goods and services for consumers to buy, along with a number of promises to do the right thing.

An example? Check out these organic cotton yoga pants designed by Global Girlfriend, under the Animal Rescue tab. At the top is the following sentence: With each pair of Organic Cotton Yoga Pants purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 28.0 bowls of food for animals living in sanctuaries and shelters. No hand-waving or woolly promises, but instead an unambiguous statement of intent. Impressive.

And exclusive, well-made, Fair Trade products abound. Maybe one of these elegant notebooks is your fancy - or perhaps one of these spoon rests in the "Celadon" Chinese ceramic style. Even if you don't shop, you can still make a donation - there’s a dizzying array of well-explained donation areas to choose from, for example here.

Worthy of a click or two? I think so.

Images: The Hunger Site