This idea comes with monetization, so take note!

As popular as cause-related marketing seems to be getting, I suspect that its popularity could be sowing the seeds for suspicion or burnout among consumers.
Brands need a way to better understand and measure the relevance of their cause-related engagements, programs — or better yet — life commitments.
Consumers need a one-stop shop for determining
a) Exactly how their patronage of the brand, and in what exact amounts, ends up delivered to serve the claimed cause beneficiary (i.e., the “life-path” of the cause portion of their purchase);
b) The duration and extent of the brand’s commitment to said cause;
c) The program participants’ CSR “umbrella”, and the degree to which observers of various stripes consider the company’s efforts authentic and consistent with its own long-term corporate interests.
…Especially in these ever-more-challenging economic times.
The solution is an application that on the consumer side serves as a “transparency shopping portal”.
Consumers would opt-in as members of a community, share a “cause profile” of the things that matter so much to them as individuals that they wish to vote with their dollars about them. Once the database includes their cause profile, they can shop in whichever category is of interest on a given day — from books to shoes to insurance to home theater systems or cars — and the system would return a list of products or brands that are somehow supporting causes they care about. Beyond that, live links in this list would take them to third party information (in important addition to the companies’ own) that would make transparent the workings of each program, other CSR activities of the participant companies, and so forth.

In addition, being a community, consumers could connect with each other about their interest causes, rate the programs in both quantitative and qualitative ways, and so forth. So far, many components of this idea exist.

But wait.
Not-so-behind-the-scenes, this nonprofit monster transparency database engine would develop analyses and reports for the brands, would develop ROI metrics (remember we could connect shopping to cause, especially by providing incentives for consumers to report actual purchases after the fact) for cause-related programs, and would in every way possible serve as a research resource to help all business stakeholders better understand the effectiveness and credibility of their relationships and campaigns. This research capability would not be free, of course, and consumer members would understand up front that they are helping to inform the corporate and nonprofit worlds about what works and what doesn’t. They could opt-in to consumer panels and specific studies commissioned by clients, the incentives for which would be proven donations (with tax information receipts) to whichever cause the consumer designates. Participate in research to help save the world, and also shop your conscience! Be a microphilanthropist just by living your life and shopping with care!
How cool.