Animal Welfare FAQ

1. What is sheepskin?

Like leather, which is the treated hide of a cow, sheepskin is the treated hide of a sheep. UGG sources sheepskin from sheep that were raised for the meat industry. UGG does not raise sheep, but buys sheepskin from tanneries.

2. What types of sheep farmers are there?

There are two kinds of sheep farmers: a farmer that raises sheep for their wool and a farmer that raises sheep for their meat. The sheepskin UGG uses comes from farmers that raise sheep primarily for their meat.

Mulesing, a practice involving removing skin from a sheep’s hindquarters, is done by some wool farmers. Mulesing occurs primarily in Australia on 100% Merino sheep that are raised by farmers for their wool. Since UGG believes that mulesing is inhumane, we do not source 100% Merino wool from farmers in Australia.

4. Are the sheep subject to the inhumane practice of mulesing?

(mulesing is a practice involving removing skin from a sheep’s hindquarters)

UGG demands that the sheepskin we purchase comes from sheep that are never mulesed. Mulesing is cruel and inhumane, and therefore UGG requires that our suppliers certify that the sheep have not been mulesed. Our advocacy against the practice of mulesing has helped other companies adopt standards that ban using materials from sheep that have been mulesed.

5. Where do you get the sheepskin used in UGG products?

UGG buys sheepskin from tanneries and requires the tanneries verify the sheepskin’s country of origin. UGG only sources sheepskin from sheep raised in the following countries: Australia, United States, Ireland, United Kingdom and Spain. One of the reasons UGG only buys sheepskin from these countries is because they all have standards that regulate the treatment of animals.

UGG does not source sheepskin from sheep raised in the Middle East or North Africa or from countries that don’t have standards that regulate the treatment of animals.

6. What other type of animal hides does UGG use?

UGG has outlined these materials in the policy here. UGG only uses animal hides that are a byproduct of another industry. In addition, UGG has banned using angora in our products because of the way the rabbits are treated.