Bargain hunting is the official sport of the holiday season, but do we have to be nickeled-and-dimed in the name of charity?

Take deep-pocketed companies such as TJX Co., the Framingham-based operator of Marshalls, Home Goods, T.J. Maxx and other discount stores. The retailer has been trying to get back into customers’ good graces after a data breach in 2007 enabled hackers to steal information from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards of customers.