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How Are The Sheep Treated For Ugg Boots? Every year, millions of sheep are castrated and parts of their tails are cut off—often without any painkillers—before they’re finally slaughtered for their skin, which is what UGG boots are made of. They endure all that cruelty just for a pair of boots.
Are UGGs bad for sheep? The bottom line is, no, animals are not harmed to make UGGs. Everything dies eventually, including you, me, the sheep, the cats and dogs. It just so happens that when the lamb is sacrificed, it gives us numerous products that we can use every day.
How does UGG get their sheepskin? The sheepskin used in UGG products come from farmers who raise sheep primarily for food. The cycle works like this: the meat industry purchases animals from a farmer, the tanneries purchase hides directly from the meat processing facilities, and we buy directly from those tanneries.
Are UGG boots animal cruelty free? UGGs are not cruelty free, vegan, nor vegetarian. UGGs are sheepskin boots. They’re made of skin from slaughtered animals. In their Animal Welfare FAQ, they state that the skin they use to produce the famous boots complies to ethical standards.
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The fleeces used to produce Uggs come from Australia’s sheep industry, which has a long history of animal abuse. For its part, UGG Australia does not own or raise the sheep killed to make its boots, and to its credit the company has a policy against purchasing fleeces from producers that practice mulesing.
A sheepskin is a sheep’s skin (funny that) and has come from an animal that has been slaughtered, usually for meat. No sheep are slaughtered specifically for their skin. Sheepskins are a by-product of the meat industry and have no real value until they are tanned.
Shearing requires sheep to be handled multiple times – mustering, yarding, and penning – which is stressful to sheep. In addition, shearing itself is an acute stressor. The potential for pain is present where sheep are wounded or injured during shearing.
UGG boots are made of shearling—yep, that’s skin with the fleece still attached, people! Not only are wool and sheepskin items cruelly produced, they’re also bad for the environment. Wool production degrades land and pollutes the water supply.
Are UGGs Vegan? Unfortunately, UGG’s boots are not considered vegan. All of the classic UGG boots are made with animal materials like sheepskin, animal leather, fur, suede, and/or wool. UGG states in the product descriptions, “This product contains real fur from sheep or lamb.
Frank Mortel claims that he named his company’s sheepskin boots “ugg boots” in 1958 after his wife commented that the first pair he made were “ugly.” Some accounts have suggested that the term grew out of earlier variations, such as the “fug boots” worn by Royal Air Force pilots during World War I.
Ugg boots are cute, warm, and comfortable, but because they’re made from sheepskin suede and lined with wool, they need to be cleaned carefully.