From schooling children in Africa to providing free meals for India's homeless, companies and their customers are increasingly united by a desire to blend consumption with philanthropy

In the run-up to Christmas last year, furniture store Ikea asked shoppers to join its annual movement to promote the right to education. For every soft toy sold, the company donated a euro to Unicef and Save the Children, which are helping more youngsters around the world attend school. Since 2003 this simple but effective campaign has raised €23.8m (£20.4m), enabling around eight million children in more than 30 countries to access education.

Last summer, Tesco also supported Save the Children's education network by donating an item of school uniform to children in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for every promotional item bought.

Buy-one-give-one-free schemes such as these, combining consumption with philanthropy, are growing in popularity with companies that want to do something positive for the planet. And their customers are helping, too.

Not to be confused with cause-related marketing, where the co-operative efforts of a "for profit" business and a non-profit organisation are used for mutual benefit, most of the companies that run buy-one-give-one-free schemes genuinely want to do good rather than achieve marketing objectives. Henry Mason, head of research and analysis at Trendwatching.com, describes the schemes as "embedded generosity". Following the recession and backlash over bankers' bonuses, Mason says consumers are disgusted with greed and are longing for institutions that care.

"With time such a scarce resource, but good intentions abundant, anything that makes it easier for consumers to be generous will be popular," says Mason. But he points out that one-off gimmicks won't hit the spot. "It's about a holistic desire to be good and generous," he says.

Some businesses are being run entirely on the premise of buy one give one free. When food manufacturer the Good Little Company was researching its first product, a healthy sausage for children, it asked customers what they wanted in a sausage. "Animal welfare, quality and health were top of the list but so was the whole area of ethical foods," says Dominic Darby, commercial and technical manager.

Darby and his colleagues decided that having a meal and giving a meal was a good concept. They teamed up with Christian Aid to donate five pence for every pack of sausages sold to its food security programme, which gives people the means to grow crops-training, irrigation and tools. "It's not just about feeding people, it's about giving them a way of life," explains Darby.

Launched in June 2009, the Good Little Company claims it has helped to provide more than six million meals through Christian Aid. Darby says consumers wholeheartedly embrace what the firm is doing. The marketing message is a compelling one. "The brand ticks so many of the right boxes—premium product, ethics, animal welfare. We get four or five emails a month from our customers telling us they buy the product because it's also helping someone else. It's catching on in terms of what consumers' expectations are. It's doing really well," he says.

Managing director Denis Lynn says that the motivation behind the Good Little Company was a genuine desire to do good. "We're doing something we want to do. Buy one give one free is something we are committed to. It's not something that we're doing for a week or a fortnight. It is part of what we are. These things don't work as a marketing ploy," he argues.

Priya Lakhani, founder of Masala Masala, which ensures that for every pot of its stir-in sauce sold in the UK a homeless person in India is served a meal, agrees. "People don't buy a product because it's linked to a charity, they buy it because the product's good," says Lakhani, adding that she didn't want to advertise Masala Masala's buy-one-give-one-free scheme on the main label (details are on the lid, which can't be seen when shelves are stacked) because she didn't want to use it as a marketing tactic.

Although Lakhani says a philanthropic marketing message can help raise brand profile and awareness, she doesn't reckon it will secure a sale. "You still have to have a good product because you can't build a business on a product or service that isn't going to be much in demand," she says. But that's not to say businesses shouldn't include this kind of marketing message on their products. In fact, Lakhani believes that if more brands carry these appeals on their goods and services it is a powerful way of raising awareness.

Mason agrees. He says well-designed programmes can build a deep connection with consumers, involving them in causes and issues that matter to a brand. He also points out that consumers love telling status stories about products or services they've used that have a social benefit. US footwear company Toms Shoes is a case in point. "Toms has had publicity that it otherwise wouldn't have got. It charges a little more but consumers are happy to pay that premium," says Mason.

For every pair of shoes sold, Toms gives a new pair to a child in need. By charging a little more for its shoes the company turns customers into benefactors who help grow a truly sustainable business. By last September, Toms had given more than one million pairs of shoes to children in need.

Likewise, the Good Little Company's sausages sell for £2.59 a packet. "It's the top end of the market but you have to charge a premium because, ultimately, the customer needs to pick it [the cost] up," explains Darby. "Making a difference is important but you still need to have a commercially viable product otherwise you can't sustain it. We're a business not a charity."

But Darby says that even if the price of pork increases the company never compromises on the five pence. "We can't turn around next week and say we're only going to donate four pence. We'd have to find other ways of making the product work," he says.

Sales at the Good Little Company reached £1m last year and profits have been invested back into the business to launch other healthy products. "With a bit of investment in new products there's no reason why sales couldn't hit £2m, with upwards of 15 million meals for Africa by the end of this year," says Darby.

Launched in September 2008, Masala Masala brought in £700,000 revenue last year and the target for this year is £2.5m. From March 2009 to late 2010, it had provided more than 350,000 meals.
This year Lakhani aims to launch a drinks brand, baby food products and a biscuit brand-they will all benefit from a charitable concept. She has ambitions to vaccinate children, educate them and even build a hospital. "I feel it's my calling to help the developing world," she says.

Lakhani respects other small firms doing similar work. "They are not large companies with a team which is dedicated to CSR. It's just them willing to give part of their revenue. They are doing it from the heart."