Dawn is an American brand of

dishwashing liquid Dishwashing liquid (washing-up liquid or fairy liquid in British English), also known as dishwashing soap, dish detergent, or dish soap, is a detergent used in dishwashing. Dishwashing detergent for dishwashers comes in various forms such a ...

owned by

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

. Introduced in 1973, it is the best-selling brand of dishwashing liquid in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Besides being used for dishwashing purposes, Dawn products are also used to remove grease from other items, such as animal fat spilled onto highways, and oil on animals, such as during the ''Exxon Valdez'' and ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spills. Dawn is also sold in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(with the

Salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from f ...

brand also sold in the latter). From 2000 to 2002, Dawn was sold in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, replacing the international

Fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

brand. After sharply declining sales due to an unfamiliar brand, the Fairy brand was revived in 2002.

Philanthropy

Procter & Gamble has donated thousands of bottles of detergent to clean wildlife and has run advertisements that promote Dawn as the best product to use when cleaning animals that have been affected by oil spills such as

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s, seals and

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

International Bird Rescue International Bird Rescue is a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates injured aquatic birds, most notably seabirds affected by oil spills. Founded bAlice Berknerand members of the Ecology Action, including veterinarian James Michael Harris, D. ...

researched multiple cleaning agents, looking for one that would be "least traumatizing" and settled on a 10% solution of Dawn. The choice was the basis for Dawn's marketing and goodwill campaigns, including advertising and promotional donations tied to sales.

References

External links

Official Dawn website
Cleaning product brands Procter & Gamble brands Products introduced in 1973 Soap brands {{product-stub