Blonde By Nature

Before I became an official Treehugger, I discovered Uggs through my California-cousin 8 years ago it was love at first sight. My obsession began with $250 Ultra Chestnut’s that I have just recently put to rest. They had only been repaired twice and their inserts were replaced 8 times. I confess that they are still sit in my closet in all their haggard, torn-up glory but they are certainly not wearable. (Call me sentimental). Even my TimberWolf adores these boots; he often picks them up and carries them around in his mouth when he wants to go for a walk or out of sheer excitement that I’m home. And yes, although a bit slobbery (they always cleaned up well), my Ultra’s survived the abuse. I wore them almost everyday and, much to my very classy Aunt’s dismay, my Uggs and I were inseparable - they are my “signature style.” Tattered, but never stinky, and sitting at the front door during spring, summer, winter and fall…they are my babies.

A little over a year ago a friend took pity on me and my torn-up old Chestnuts and bought me another pair. Ultra Tall Blacks. They lasted barely 6 months before I had to bring them into the shoe repair shop. The lady at the counter took one look at them and said “these Uggs, I’m tellin ya…so poorly built.” I sloughed the comment off knowing I had a 7 year old pair in working condition sitting at home. Not even 3 months later my Blacks were back in the shop. Following that, they lasted another 1 month before they were back in again. At this point, I could feel the chill on my toes, the water seep through and my feet were constantly damp. As a result, I pulled my trusty Chestnuts back out and kicked the Blacks to the curb.

These details are important for what I’m about to reveal to you…

Do you see that? “Made In China.” Urgggh.

The truth is that I don’t know when exactly they shifted the production to China but when I noticed this (I’ve heard the switch happened in 2007), you can be sure that I started obsessively researching the shit out them to get to the bottom of it.

Here is a summary of what I’ve discovered:

• The sheepskin boot has been a 200 year Australian tradition and have always been called “ugg”, “ug” or “ugh.” This is NOT a brand name, but a old linguistic term used by Aussies for decades.
• The Macquarie Concise Dictionary defines the ‘ug boot’ as: Australian 100% merino sheepskin lined boot. Also called ugh boot, ugg boot.
• In 1971 Shane Stedman, an Aussie, registered the term ‘UGH-BOOTS’ and ‘UGH’ with the Australian Trade Mark Registry. It lapsed and eventually ends up in the hands of Deckers decades later along with the other various spellings.
• The ug boot became extreme popular by the ’surfies’ at Margaret River near Perth, Australia and spread throughout Aussieland to California where the climate is similar and surfers ride the waves in abundance.
• It wasn’t until the 1978, that Australian surfer Brian Smith registered the term with the The United States Patent and Trademark Office and began his rags to riches story. Eventually Brian went on and sold the trademark to the US company Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
• In North American in 2004, with the help of celebrity hype, Uggs hit it huge and Deckers sent out letters to all the Aussie sheepskin boot companies warning them against the use of the terms Ugh, Ug and Ugg based on grounds of litigation and trademark ownership.
• Pissed off Aussie sheepskin boot sellers banded together and proved that ‘ug/ugh/ugg’ was a generic term that should never have been trademarked in the first place because it was – and always has been – an entire category of boots, not a brand.
• In January 2006, ug/ugh/ugg was removed from the Australian Trade Mark register thus allowing all sheepskin boots in Australia to be sold as ugs/ughs/uggs.

I also sent an email to the current makers of the boot - Deckers Outdoor Corp - and here was their obviously canned response:

We have experienced tremendous growth in Ugg Australia footwear, especially in the Classic Collection.The demand has outnumbered the capabilities of both the New Zealand and Australian factories.

Product demand, business growth, and the consistency of manufacturing in Asia have all been determining factors as to why we have moved many of the collections’ productions to China.

Though our boots have been manufactured in China for several years, they continue to be made of Authentic Grade A sheepskin from Australia and New Zealand. UGG Australia is part of a United States corporation, yet it was founded by an Australian surfer who brought Australian surfing boots to the United States.

The Ugg Australia name is a registered trademark and refer to the design origin, not the location of the company or manufacturer. It is also meant to distinguish Ugg Australia boots from generic and counterfeit brands.

I will leave it up to you to think of all the politically correct ways to point out how unethical this company is based on this response.

Also, I will leave it up to you to decide if you feel that they are still getting their leathers from Australia and New Zealand based on their past behavior. Think about that for a moment:

1. They have America by the fashion-balls (UGG AUSTRALIA is all the rage and has been for 5 years)
2. They attempted to bully the Down Under into giving up one of their nation’s historical icons
3. They have shifted their supposidely “authentic” aussie boot manufacturing from Australia to China but mislead consumers into thinking they are made in Australia by adding the word “AUSTRALIA” in their name
4. They just shot me a lame as excuse as to why they aren’t building the boots in Austalia even though the ugh was born and raised there
5. I’ve heard almost every one of my friends complain about their UGGS falling apart, it’s obvious that the quality of current UGG is horrible and yet they continue in China

Now, do you REALLY believe they get their leather from Australia when they have done everything in their power to tear the UGG boot away from the Aussies and trick the consumers?

If you answer NO, then STOP BUYING UGGS AUSTRALIA and read Do We Not Bleed? A Look At China’s Treatment of Animals, Cruelty Inc and It’s What’s On The Outside That Counts to see why.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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