Research for Lovemoney found that most retailers gave less than a quarter of sales to good causes

Some retailers donate just 10% of profits from charity Christmas cards to good causes, according to research from a financial advice site.

Lovemoney revealed that only Debenhams gave 100% of card sales to charity – and even that only applied to one specific pack of eight cards. The other 11 ranges sold by the store saw donations drop to 20%.

Lidl, Aldi and John Lewis came joint second in the analysis, donating 25% of sales to their chosen charities over their whole range.

Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, WH Smith and Ryman were the least generous, each giving just a 10% share from sales to chosen charities.

A number of retailers, including Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-op do not give a percentage of sales to charity but instead donate a lump sum regardless of sales.

Lovemoney said around 900 million charity Christmas cards were sold in 2015, valued at £200m.

However, charities were found to have received just £50m of that total.

Lovemoney’s Reena Sewraz wrote: “If you’re planning on picking up some charity Christmas cards, you should double check the back of the pack to understand how much will actually go towards the cause.

“If you want to make sure all profits from the sale of what you pay for a pack of Christmas cards goes to a good cause, it’s best to shop direct.”