Marks & Spencer aims to raise 1 million US dollars for Unicef

British retailer Marks & Spencer has launched

a new international partnership with children’s charity Unicef to help raise 1 million US dollars.

The retailer’s employees and customers at the brand’s 420 international stores, from Paris to Shanghai, will take part in ‘100 days of fundraising’ for the charity, with the aim of raising a total of 1 million US dollars in the first year of the partnership.

It is the first time Marks & Spencer has embarked on a global fundraising challenge, but it will use the initiative to engage with its international employees and customers on Plan A, M&S’s eco and ethical programme which aims to make M&S the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015.

The new international partnership builds on the retailer’s successful collaboration with Unicef UK, where M&S makes a donation of 50p for every 1 pound saved from hanger recycling in the UK. In 2012, the retailer recycled 161 million UK hangers and has raised more than 1.5 million pounds to date.

Jan Heere, M&S’s director international, said: “Being the world’s leading children’s organisation, Unicef already has a special place in the hearts of our employees and customers internationally and we believe our global fundraising challenge will take their engagement to another level.

“We’re very proud of our new international partnership which will support Unicef in transforming the lives of the world’s poorest children through education. Our international business is growing rapidly and we want our partnership with Unicef to grow in the same way.”

The ‘100 days of fundraising’ will culminate on the UN’s Universal Children’s Day on November 20. Fundraising activities will vary in each market with Hong Kong employees holding a sponsored walk whilst in India employees will hold book and food sales.