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Beyond the Brand: Dial®

A series outlining the history, purpose, innovations, sustainability, and pioneering spirit of Henkel’s brands.

Beyond the Brand: Dial®

A series outlining the history, purpose, innovations, sustainability, and pioneering spirit of Henkel’s brands.

Published 04-25-25

Submitted by Henkel

An adult and child holding Dial soap, with text "Beyond the Brand"

Henkel’s two business units, Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands, are united by the pioneering spirit to reimagine and improve everyday life – today and for generations to come. Building on a strong legacy of more than 145 years, our brands and products play an important role in the lives of millions of people and help to transform entire industries. In this series, Beyond the Brand, you will learn about how Henkel’s top brands are contributing to organizational goals and innovating constantly to serve and succeed on behalf of customers, consumers, and partners.

This edition’s featured brand is Dial® soap. Read on for more about the history, purpose, innovations, sustainability, and pioneering spirit of the team that goes far beyond the Dial® brand.

The History of Dial®

The Dial® brand is an American icon known for its powerful deep cleansing that is gentle on skin. Dial® became a US household name in the 1940’s with the introduction of Dial® antibacterial bar soap. As one of the founding American personal cleansing brands, Dial® introduced the first ever antibacterial liquid hand soap in 1988, and was also the first ever soap in space.

The Purpose of Dial®

As a trusted brand for over 75 years, Dial’s purpose is to deliver clean skin for consumers and their families across the entire North American region.

Various Dial products

Innovations from Dial®

Dial® is driven by strong organizational values of sustainability and innovation. This has led to award-winning products, including Dial® Healthy Hydration Body Wash. This innovative product deeply hydrates the top layers of the skin with no greasy feeling, leaving skin feeling soft and nourished. In addition to being dermatologist tested, and free from chemicals like parabens and silicones, this product was formulated with ingredients such as vitamin E, shea butter extract, coconut milk, and hyaluronic acid.

Bottles of Dial Healthy Hydration

This innovation also honors the Dial® brand’s commitment to sustainability, with body wash packaging that features 100% recycled plastic in ergonomically improved bottles.* Dial® also continues to anchor the brand in its purpose by introducing new innovation in its antibacterial hand soap portfolio with seasonal, limited-edition scents throughout the year.

Someone washing their hands under running water, with a bottle of Dial Antibacterial Defense in the background

Sustainability from Dial®

Dial’s partnership with Solidaridad, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2024, is just one way that the brand has worked to establish programs that deliver sustainable value for Henkel’s customers, partners, consumers, and the communities that we serve. The partnership aims to help smallholder farmers in Columbia earn a living wage while connecting them to the supply chain that supports the brand’s products in North America and establishing a traceable and transparent sourcing process for palm and palm kernel oil.

A young person and two adults with text : "Dial X Solidaridad"

This partnership reaffirms Henkel’s belief that it’s crucial to support current and future generations with the tools to excel and create thriving communities. Younger generations are driven, seeing a difference in their ability to not only have a successful and sustainable farm-based business, but to be innovative entrepreneurs and ensure that their children will have the opportunity to continue cultivating their land for years to come, passing their passion and legacy on for the good of future generations.

The brand is also proud to use 100% post-consumer recycled material in its bottle packaging* as well as to have achieved two GreenCircle certifications**. This includes a Certified Environmental Facts certification for carbon footprint reduction and a Zero Waste to Landfill certification at its West Hazleton, PA manufacturing facility, where Dial® liquid soaps are made. This recognition underscores Henkel’s ongoing commitment to apply the newest standards for transparency in sustainability.

Beyond the Dial® Brand

Beyond its product portfolio, Dial has a strong connection with the communities it serves. As part of Henkel’s multi-year partnership with the United States Soccer Federation, the Dial Clean Sheet Program supports public school teachers and students nationwide through education nonprofit DonorsChoose.

As part of this program, Dial donated an initial $50,000 to DonorsChoose, and for every clean sheet in a U.S. Senior National Team soccer match, Dial® will donate an additional $5,000 for a total contribution of up to $100,000 in the first year.

DID YOU KNOW?

Preventing the opposing team from scoring any goals is what delivers a ‘clean sheet’ match for the winning team. This is a mark of defensive excellence and is a significant achievement for the goalkeeper and the entire team defense.

A child playing with a soccer ball

 

This initiative contributes to Dial’s longtime goal and brand mission to give educators the tools they need to teach the next generation and foster healthier communities by providing resources that support clean skin and proper hygiene practices. Dial® hopes to engage soccer fans as they cheer on our winning U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams while giving back to the teachers who do so much for students around the country.

*Excludes cap and pump.
**For all Dial body wash, liquid hand soap (except Himalayan Salt 7.5oz), and foaming hand wash (except Coconut Water Mango 7.5oz)

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About Henkel in North America
Henkel’s portfolio of well-known brands in North America includes Dial® soaps, Persil® and all® laundry detergents, Snuggle® fabric softeners, Schwarzkopf® hair care, as well as Loctite®, OSI®, Technomelt® and Bonderite® adhesives. With sales close to 6.6 billion US dollars (6 billion euros) in 2023, North America accounts for 28 percent of the company’s global sales. Henkel employs around 8,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit http://www.henkel-northamerica.com and on X (Twitter) @Henkel_NA.

About Henkel
With its brands, innovations and technologies, Henkel holds leading market positions worldwide in the industrial and consumer businesses. The business unit Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the market for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings. With Consumer Brands, the company holds leading positions especially in laundry & home care and hair in many markets and categories around the world. The company's three strongest brands are Loctite, Persil and Schwarzkopf. In fiscal 2023, Henkel reported sales of more than 21.5 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of around 2.6 billion euros. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. Sustainability has a long tradition at Henkel, and the company has a clear sustainability strategy with specific targets. Henkel was founded in 1876 and today employs a diverse team of about 48,000 people worldwide – united by a strong corporate culture, shared values and a common purpose: "Pioneers at heart for the good of generations.” More information at www.henkel.com.

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