Unicef UK hopes to raised £1.9m through an innovative recycling partnership with Marks and Spencers.

The three-year partnership announced last week will ask customers not to take their hangers home when buying clothes, to allow 50p of every £1 saved from hanger recycling to be donated to the charity.

The funds raised have been earmarked for a new Unicef project which will provide all the basics for children to have a better future in the Mymensingh and Dhaka regions of Bangladesh, from clean water to education and healthcare.

David Bull, executive director of Unicef UK said: "Unicef is extremely excited about our groundbreaking new partnership with M&S.

"Support from such a trusted high street retailer as well as its millions of customers will enable Unicef to transform the lives of 50,000 people, giving children the best possible start in life."

The Plan A hangar recycling scheme was devised by M&S to reduce the organisation's environmental impact. Hangers left by customers will be collected in large Unicef branded boxes and all in-tact hangers will be sent back to M&S  manufacturers to be used. Broken hangers will be reground and turned back into hangers.

Television presenter Cat Deeley is a Unicef UK ambassador and is the face of the campaign. 

"This campaign feels like it's joining the dots, because we know it's good to recycle, but by turning recycled hangers into money for charity, it means M&S staff and customers are doing a great thing every time they drop a hanger into the box," she said.

Figures released by Unicef state that the money donated by M&S from one box could provide a child with clean water for a fortnight and that from 35 boxes could provide a place for a child at a day care centre for a year.