Fairbank's Gold Dust washing products was a line of all-purpose cleaning agents researched and developed by the N. K. Fairbank Manufacturing Company. First introduced to the American consumer in 1889, Gold Dust Washing Powder became a success due in large part to its low selling price and bright, eye-catching packaging. The most easily recognized members of the soap line were Gold Dust Washing Powder and Gold Dust Scouring Soap. They were marketed in boxes and containers prominently featuring the brand's well known trademark, the Gold Dust Twins. "Let the Twins Do Your Work" was the product's long lasting and ubiquitous slogan.
Background
The Fairbanks Company, founded in 1864, was part of a changing landscape in American businesses' drive to give consumers more freedom in the timely completion of daily chores. The task of doing laundry began to change with the introduction of washing powders in the 1880s. Until that time, laundry was done using hard bar soap, washboards, and the repeated beating and wringing of the clothing items.[1] The success of several new laundry washing products introduced late in the 19th century had proven that there was a ready market for what the consumer believed to be better and more economical cleaning agents. Many of these new products, however, were simply pulverized soap and fell short of having any significant improvement in doing the laundry.[2][3]