UGG® LAUNCHES VEGAN BOOT, MOVES TO EXPOSE “HUMANE-WASHING” STANDARDS / {Brand Action}
UGG is a massively popular international brand most known for their iconic and cozy sheepskin boots. They are a leader. Copied, emulated, widely regarded as a “classic” fashion staple across genres, genders, classes and lifestyles. Though in their 50 year history they’ve never offered a vegan option, anyone interested in their animal-welfare stance can find two key mentions on their website: 1: That they source their animal skin “almost entirely as a by-product of the meat industry.” 2: That their wool is part of the Responsible Wool Standard. The fact that they openly offer up their official paper on animal-welfare says they’re thinking about these issues, perhaps even in a deep way (which one would hope, considering they’re also a brand that seems to leverage the “#woke” image). With this idea, we at IFA are not here to harshly judge these common standards. Anyone who chooses to question whether “the animal skins we use are a meat-industry by-product” is a valid argument can find ample resources that illuminate why this is a widely misunderstood rationalization and blatant shirking of responsibility. Just as anyone who’s willing can investigate the “ethical smokescreen” of the “Responsible Wool Standard” that seemingly kind companies from Patagonia to Prana, and Pendleton to Smartwool (and hundreds of others) openly tout. For the record? The RWS is considered within animal-welfare circles as one of the most brutal examples of both humane-washing and green washing.
While we feel all of the above needed to be mentioned to set at least a bit of context, this idea is actually about inspiring UGG to leverage their international fame and to deeply consider their powerful ability (and responsibility?) to set real ethics standards and affect both mindset and behavior of an entire culture.
Just do a web search on something like “cute UGG outfits” and you’ll see their incredible influence on influential people. The UGG brand has been an established social leader for more than half a century - the icon of a coveted lifestyle and aesthetic that is far more than some passing trend.
This idea would have UGG launch a vegan model of their iconic boot, accompanied with a press campaign built on their vulnerable and transparent admission that they have seen the light regarding their long-held animal-welfare standards.
The crux of this press message being that the launch of The Vegan Classic UGG marks the beginning of an official plan to evolve their product line toward “100%-kindness by 2030.” Such a plan could have a profound ripple effect. And arguably? Earn them more in profits and loyalty than common, normal and conventional businesses might assume due to what is absolutely normal for self-willed humans: Fear of change.