Dawn is an American brand of dishwashing liquid owned by

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

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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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.

Wildlife rescue

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.

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.

Outside the United States

Dawn is also sold in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(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 one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...

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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, replacing the international

Fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

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

References

External links

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