Pulse: Shopping for a Better World

Visitors to the site must download the free AidMaker software, which automatically identifies more than 800 e-commerce sites where retailers donate a percentage of sales to a user-selected charity.

Among the participating retailers are Best Buy, Apple, Hotels.com, Kodak, Starbucks, Peapod, REI, Tumi and West Marine. The percentage of sales donated is predetermined by the retailer and aGoodCause.com, and averages 7 percent of a sale. A commission on the donation covers the operating costs for aGoodCause.com.