Dr Beckmann becomes Dr Beckwoman in tribute of women from Bolton an beyond who have shaped history and continue to work to make the world an equal place

Dr Beckmann become Dr Beckwoman to celebrate the annual event in tribute to women from Bolton ­- and beyond ­- who throughout the ages have shaped society and continue the fight for equal rights.

Family run firm ACDO, known for its legendary cleaning products, has been based in Astley Bridge for the last 100 years.

And to celebrate the day, which this year fell yesterday, the company rebranded one of its most popular products and changed its colour-scheme from the famous blue to International Women’s Day purple.

Limited edition boxes of best-selling Glowhite have been given a top-to-tail International Women’s Day makeover, complete with that splash of purple, front and centre on its iconic boxes.

Staff at the factory even changed their usual hi-vis vests from yellow to International Women’s Day purple to mark the name change and celebrate the day.

Bosses say the change of name from Dr Beckmann to Dr Beckwoman acknowledges the special day and pays tribute to gender equality worldwide.

Dr Beckmann spokeswoman Susan Fermor said: “Not only are we changing our name to Dr Beckwoman on special limited-edition packs, we will also be making a cash donation to the social enterprise Girls Out Loud.

“Though our best-selling products are purchased by both men and women, the main body of our sales are to women.

“And we wanted to do something to celebrate each and every one of them, and the important roles they all play, on International Women’s Day.

“Girls Out Loud does incredibly important work to celebrate and support female empowerment in the hope that the gender equality gap continues to reduce both nationally and globally, and we are thrilled to support them,” she said.

Girls Out Loud is a multi-award winning social enterprise dedicated to raising the aspirations of teenage girls in the UK.

The charity sets out to empower girls to find their voice via a range of programmes designed to instil confidence, emotional resilience, self-assurance and self-esteem.

Susan Fermor added: “The regular Glowhite box is traditionally white with the Dr Beckmann logo set on a dark blue background.

“But we have changed the blue background to purple and we’re sending love and respect to all the incredible women around the country on this special day by rebranding as Dr Beckwoman in their honour.”

On partnering on the campaign, Girls Out Loud founder and CEO Jane Kenyon said: “We are delighted to partner with Dr Beckmann on this year’s IWD campaign.

“Unity is power and although I would be the first to celebrate our progress towards equality, in reality, we still have a way to go.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure we respect and celebrate our differences alongside putting equality up front and centre – without it we are doing a great disservice to our young women and ultimately we will all miss out.”

This year, International Women’s Day’s mantra is “An equal world is an enabled world”.

It challenges both men and women to help forge a gender-equal world by celebrating women’s achievements and raising awareness against bias in order to take action for equality.

As part of family run ACDOCO, Dr Beckmann provides products to tackle all laundry, textile and household cleaning.

The Astley Chemical & Dye Company (ACDO) now exports products to over 80 countries but continues to operate from the same Mallison Street factory set up by Harry Pilling in 1919.