Ugg boots

This article is about the type of footwear. For the American brand known as "UGG", see UGG Australia.
A pair of ugg boots

Ugg boots (sometimes called uggs)[1] are known in Australia and New Zealand as a unisex style of sheepskin boots. In the rest of the world, UGG is a brand manufactured by Deckers Brands, with registered trademarks in over 130 countries worldwide including the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, all European Union members, and China.[2][3] They are typically made of twin-faced sheepskin with fleece on the inside, a tanned outer surface and a synthetic sole. Ugg boots originated as utilitarian footwear worn for warmth. They were often worn by surfers during the 1960s. In the 1970s, the boots were introduced to the surf culture of the United Kingdom and the United States by local surfers returning from surfing competitions in Australia. Ugg boots emerged as a fashion trend in the United States in the late 1990s and as a world-wide trend in the mid-2000s, yet in Australia they are worn predominantly as slippers and often associated with "daggy" fashion sense, and "bogan" culture.[4]

There has been a dispute between some manufacturers of ugg boots as to whether "ugg" is a protected trademark, or a generic term and thus ineligible for trademark protection. In Australia and New Zealand, where the term is considered generic, more than 70 registered trade marks include the term "ugg" in various logos and designs.[5][6][2]

Noteworthy manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand include Luda Productions of Australia, which has roughly 75 percent of the market share in Australia;[7] EMU Australia; Euram Ugg; Blue Mountains Ugg Boots; Mortels Sheepskin Factory; Bearpaw; Uggs-N-Rugs; Binder Corporation and Westhaven Industries. Deckers is the leading manufacturer of the footwear style outside Australia.[8] By 2010, worldwide sales by Australian manufacturers combined equaled 5.9 percent of Deckers UGG boots sales,[8] with UGG Australia dominating the world market.[9]

History

Cutting ugg boot pieces from a sheepskin using a cutting press
Stitching the innersole of an ugg boot

Uggs are a type of shoe and/or boot. The origins of the ugg boot style are disputed, with both Australia and New Zealand laying claim. Artisanal sheepskin boots were known in rural Australia during the 1920s,[10] but when commercial manufacturing began remains unclear. They were reportedly being manufactured in 1933 by Blue Mountains Ugg Boots of New South Wales.[11] Frank Mortel of Mortels Sheepskin Factory has stated that he began manufacturing the boots in the late 1950s.[12][13] Lifelong surfer Shane Stedman of Australia has stated in interviews that he invented the ugg boot.[14] Perth sheepskin boot manufacturers Bruce and Bronwyn McDougall of Uggs-N-Rugs have manufactured the boots since the late 1970s.[15]

The origin of the term "ugg" is also disputed. Stedman registered the trademark "UGH-BOOTS" in Australia in 1971, and in 1982 registered the "UGH" trademark.[16] Frank Mortel claims that he named his company's sheepskin sheepskin boots "ugg boots" in 1958 after his wife commented that the first pair he made were "ugly."[17][18][19] 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.[20]

The 1970s saw the emergence of advertising using the UGG and UGH terms both in trade names and as a generic term in Australia.[1] The Macquarie Dictionary of the Australian language first included a definition for "ugg boot" as a generic term for sheepskin boots in its 1981 edition.[15] (After Stedman complained to the editors of Macquarie, a trademark notation was added to subsequent editions indicating that "UGH" was a trade mark).[1]

In the 1970s, ugg boots became popular among competitive surfers.[15][21][18] After movie theatres in Sydney banned ugg boots and ripped jeans, the footwear became somewhat popular in the youth market as a sign of rebellion.[22] Sheepskin footwear accounts for around 10 percent of footwear production in Australia.[23]

International sales

Surfing helped popularise the boots outside Australia and New Zealand. Advertisements for Australian sheepskin boots first appeared in Californian surf magazines in 1970.[24] By the mid-1970s, several surf shops in Santa Cruz, California and the San Fernando Valley were selling a limited number of boots purchased by the shops' owners while visiting surfing events in Australia.[25] In 1978, a Western Australian manufacturer of sheepskin boots, Country Leather, advertised outside Australia for distributors to sell its sheepskin boots, which were made from sheepskin sourced from Jackson's Tannery in Geelong, Victoria.[25] Seeing the popularity of the boots among American surfers, Australian surfer Brian Smith, then living in Santa Monica, California, and Doug Jensen applied to be Country Leather's United States distributors. Family friends invested $20,000 into the new venture and the group set up Ugg Imports.[25] Due to other business commitments, Jensen handed over his share of the company to Smith in 1979. In 1987 Smith registered Ugg Holdings Inc. and in 1985 registered a US trademark on a ram's head logo with the words "Original UGG Boot UGG Australia." In 1995, Ugg Holdings purchased Stedman's various trademarks.[25] As for the ugg name, Smith stated: "We always called them uggs, long before it was a trademarked brand."[26]

Shoe manufacturer Hide & Feet in Newquay, Cornwall began manufacturing sheepskin boots in 1973, and in 1990 Nick Whitworth and his wife Kath bought the business and registered "UGG" as a trade mark in the UK. Due to increasing popularity and sales, in 1991 the company changed its name to "The Original Ugg Co." In 1999, Whitworth sold the company name and the British UGG trade mark to Deckers Outdoor Corporation, renaming his company the Celtic Sheepskin Company.[27]

By 1994, UGG boots had grown in status among surfers in California with 80% of sales in southern Orange County where Ugg Holdings saw an increase in sales of 60 percent on the previous season. Smith's Ugg boots later gained international exposure when they were worn by the U.S. Olympic team in Lillehammer for the 1994 Winter Olympics.[28] Australian manufacturers also saw an increase in exports of sheepskin boots to the United States, although Ugg Holdings retained an estimated 80% market share. By the end of the year, Country Leather had opened its own shop in Redondo Beach to promote an expansion of the brand from its established surf market into mainstream footwear sales and Ugg Holdings began sourcing UGG boots directly from Jackson's Tannery, which had changed its name to EMU Australia.[23][29] In early 1995, Smith promoted the UGG AUSTRALIA brand on the Rush Limbaugh show, which spurred sales while the brand gained further exposure when the San Diego Chargers started wearing them. According to retailers, it was not just the footwear that attracted consumers, but the "made in Australia" tie-in as the boots were a unique product only available from Australia and Australian products were at that time very popular.[23][28] In August 1995, Smith sold Ugg Holdings to Deckers Outdoor Corporation for $14.6 million.[24] In 1996 Deckers registered the various trademarks for "UGG" in the US.[5][30] In 1999, Ruth Davis, vice president of marketing for Deckers Outdoor Corp stated in an interview; "In Australia, there's a lot of sheep, and ugg is the generic word for sheepskin footwear. We made it a brand name in the [United] States."[31]

Generally worn for warmth and comfort, Australian ugg boots had never been considered fashionable in their country of origin.[24] But the Deckers UGG brand emerged as a fashion trend in the US through Deckers' actions to promote it as a high fashion brand. Deckers solicited endorsements from celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker,[26][32] Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez,[33] and product placements in television series such as Sex and the City, and films such as Raising Helen.[24][34] This marketing campaign "led to an exponential growth in the brand's popularity and recognizability."[35] After Oprah Winfrey received a free pair, she bought 350 pairs for her entire production staff, and eventually featured UGG brand boots as one of her "Favorite Things" on her TV talk show in 2000.[36] Other actresses who discovered UGG brand boots through surf shops began wearing them.[29] The company reported US$689 million in UGG sales in 2008,[37] almost a 50-fold increase from 1995.[38] By way of contrast, ugg boots in Australia were worn predominantly as slippers and associated with "daggy fashion sense, bogan behaviour" and the "outer suburbs" when worn in public.[4][39][40][41] According to Australian fashion stylist Justin Craig: "The only people who get away with wearing them are models, who give out the message: 'I'm so beautiful, I can look good in any crap."[26]

Design

Fashion ugg boots

Traditional Australian ugg boots are made from sheepskins with fleece attached. The fleece is tanned into the leather and the boot is assembled with the fleece on the inside. Some ugg boots have a synthetic sole, commonly made from Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). The stitching is often prominent on the outside of the boot. The natural insulative properties of sheepskin gives isothermal properties to the boots: the thick fleecy fibres on the inner part of the boots wick moisture and allow air to circulate, keeping the feet at body temperature[42] and allowing the boots to keep feet warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.[43] The original design was a pull-on boot in natural (undyed) tan sheepskin, about 10 inches (25 cm) in height, with rounded, almost shapeless uppers; this is now described as the "classic" design. Produced by a number of manufacturers, they come in a variety of colours, including black, pink, blue, chestnut, and fuchsia.[44] They are available in both pull-on and lace-up varieties and their height can range from just above the ankle to above the knee.[44]

Some variations of ugg style boots have also been made from kangaroo fur and leather. There are also synthetic boots. Although derided as "fake" by some in the industry, their lower price made them appealing to large retail chains such as Myer.[45]

Animal rights and health criticism

Similar to the sourcing of leather, sheep-skin is a by-product of processing sheep for human consumption; sheep are not killed for their skins. Because it is a by-product, the supply of sheep-skin is limited by the number of sheep processed for the meat industry. The rise in the popularity of "UGG"-branded ugg boots has been the "driving force" in recent shortages, which have seen sheep-skin prices from 2010 to 2012 increase by up to 80%.[46]

Being one of many clothing products made from animal skin, the production of sheepskin boots has been the subject of criticism by the animal rights movement.[47] In the decade beginning in 2000, such groups in the United States called for the boycott of ugg boots and their replacement with alternatives not made from animal skin. In 2007, Pamela Anderson, realizing that ugg boots were made of skin, wrote on her website: "I thought they were shaved kindly? People like to tell me all the time that I started that trend – yikes! Well let's start a new one – do NOT buy Uggs! Buy Stella McCartney or juicy boots."[48] In February 2008, the Princeton Animal Welfare Society staged a campus protest against the fur industry, particularly attacking the ugg boot industry. "Students lay in the newly fallen snow on the Frist Campus Center's North Front Lawn on Friday afternoon, feigning death, wearing coats covered with fake blood and sporting signs that read, 'What if you were killed for your coat?' "[49]

In 2009 an American podiatrist raised concern that the regular wearing of UGG boots could be deleterious to foot health due to the lack of arch support.[50]

Trademark disputes

The trademarking of the UGG name has been, and continues to be, the subject of dispute in several countries. Deckers Outdoor Corporation has won such disputes in the United States,[35] the Netherlands,[51] and Turkey.[3] In Australia and New Zealand, Ugg is a generic term and the trademark for "Ugh-Boots" has also been removed from the trademark registry for non-use.[2] Outside Australia and New Zealand, UGG (written in capital letters) is a registered trademark of Deckers Outdoor Corporation.[35]

In 1999, Deckers registered the trademarks for "UGG" in the US.[5][30] Deckers began asserting its new trademark and sent out cease and desist letters to Australian manufacturers that were selling sheepskin boots outside of Australia via the internet.[2] By the early 2000s, demand for ugg boots was soaring with Australian and US based manufacturers selling sheepskin boots over the Internet. Deckers' law firm Middletons of Melbourne began a serious effort to halt the Australian companies' sales[2] by sending cease and desist letters to a number of Australian and US based manufacturers, preventing them from selling uggs on eBay or from using the word in their registered business names or domain names.[45][52]

In response to these actions by Deckers, some Australian manufacturers formed the Australian Sheepskin Association to fight the corporation's claim, arguing that "ugg" is a generic term referring to flat-heeled, pull-on sheepskin boots. One of these manufacturers, Perth's Uggs-N-Rugs, who had been manufacturing ugg boots since 1978 and selling them online since 1996, appealed to Australian trademark regulators.[2] The officer who heard the case stated that the "evidence overwhelmingly supports the proposition that the terms (ugg, ugh and ug boots) are interchangeably used to describe a specific style of sheepskin boot and are the first and most natural way in which to describe these goods." In 2006 Uggs-N-Rugs won the right to use the term UGG BOOT/S and variations such as UGH BOOT/S.[2] Deckers retained the trademark rights to their UGG logo in Australia only as it applies to the way the mark appears in its entirety and not the words it contains. IP Australia also ruled that the trademark "UGH-boots" (with hyphen) should be removed from the trademark register for non-use as Deckers had only been using the UGG logo, not the UGH marks.[5][2] This 2006 ruling applies only in Australia and Deckers still owns the trademarks in other jurisdictions such as the US, China, Japan and the European Union.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thompson, Ian. ""Decision of a Delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks with Reasons"" (PDF). 16 January 2006. IP Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Marks, Kathy (18 January 2006). "Ugg: How a minnow put the boot into a fashion giant". The Independent. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Website of Walker Morris UK solicitors firm, Leeds. "Bootiful - UGG recognised as a well known mark in Turkey" Legal Briefing from the Trade Marks and Designs Group, 3 October 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The uggly side of life The Age, 27 September 2006.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The battle of the UGG BOOT continues Hynes Lawyers 11 February 2011
  6. ↑ Trade Marks Hearings 16 January 2006. Decision of a delegate of the registrar of trade marks with reasons. Pg 10
  7. ↑ Davies, Celia. "UGG AUSTRALIA: fight over trade mark" (PDF). Freehills Patent & Trade. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Davis, Jim (27 December 2011). "Ugg kicking it in the U.S.". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Bhasin, Kim (3 March 2014). "Why Ugg Boots Will Never Go Away". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Terry, Andrew; Forrest, Heather (2008). "Where's the Beef? Why Burger King Is Hungry Jack's in Australia and Other Complications in Building a Global Franchise Brand". Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, 2008 28 (2): 188. ISSN 0196-3228.
  11. ↑ Gee, Steve (23 January 2004). "Uggly Americans — The Yanks steal another one of our beaut ideas". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia). p. 7.
  12. ↑ "What's in a name?". Central Coast Express (Sydney, Australia). 9 March 2004. p. 20.
  13. ↑ Marks, Kathy (19 January 2006). "These boots are made for litigation". The New Zealand Herald (Auckland, New Zealand). Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Ugg inventor Shane Stedman happy to trade dollars for surf". News.com.au, originally reported by Sydney Morning Herald. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "The Good, The Bad and The Ugg Boot". 2006. Austrialian Screen, National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  16. ↑ "IP Australia Ugg Boot Fact Sheet". 2006. Government of Australia, IP Australia.
  17. ↑ Hansard transcript House Of Representatives 17 February 2004
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Marks, Kathy (17 February 2004). "There's no business like shoe business". The Independent (London, United Kingdom). Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  19. ↑ Marks, Kathy (19 January 2006). "These boots are made for litigation". The New Zealand Herald (Auckland, New Zealand). p. 33. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  20. ↑ "What's in a name?". Central Coast Express. 9 March 2004. p. 20.
  21. ↑ Burgess, Dave (12 July 2008). "An ugg boot is an ug boot is an ugh boot". The Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand). p. A17.
  22. ↑ The Ugg inventor who gave £500m the boot Mail Online 14 February 2011
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 McAllister, Robert The Aussie invasion. Australian footwear manufacturers export to the U.S. Footwear News. Condé Nast Publications 6 February 1995. HighBeam Research accessed 6 May 2012
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Conley, Lucas Behind the Brand: The Golden Fleece Wall Street Journal September 9, 2010.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Brian Smith Booty Call Los Angeles Magazine October 1, 2001 Pg 75
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 From Ugg to uglier The Telegraph 29 February 2004
  27. ↑ "Our History". Celtic Sheepskin Co. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Foster, Caryl Ugg's going mainstream with slimmer boots Footwear News. Condé Nast Publications 14 February 1994. HighBeam Research accessed 7 September 2012
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Cronin, Emily The story of Ugg The Daily Telegraph 30 January 2011
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Fink, Karl V.; Johnson, Carolyn M.; Miranda, David P. (5 February 2004), "UGG Holdings, Inc. and Deckers Outdoor Corporation v. Paul Barclay d/b/a Australian Made Goods", National Arbitration Forum. Retrieved 25 August 2010
  31. ↑ Being cool while keeping warm The Beacon News 1 December 1999. HighBeam Research accessed 7 September 2012
  32. ↑ Brown, Suzanne S. (21 December 2003) Ooh, so comfy, but ugh! so hard to find Chicago Tribune p. 7B.
  33. ↑ "Aus weichem Wildleder mit Butter." Cernotazi, 3 November 2012. Accessed 26 March 2013.
  34. ↑ Silverstein, Barry. "UGG Australia: the good, the bad, and the UGGly." BrandChannel.com, 10 December 2007. Accessed 26 March 2013.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 "United States District Court UGG Holdings, Inc. -v- Clifford Severen et al" (PDF). Deckers Outdoor Corporation. 23 February 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  36. ↑ John Lupton (25 December 2010). "Ubiquitous Uggs Stand Tall on Wish Lists". Daily West Port. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  37. ↑ Abkowitz, Alyssa (19 August 2009). "Deckers finds its footing with Uggs". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  38. ↑ "Deckers Outdoor completes acquisition of UGG Holdings (Press release)". Business Wire. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  39. ↑ The boganvillea is flowering and the hats are on the Kat The Age 23 June 2011
  40. ↑ Living east of Boganville? Madrigal Communications, 27 October 2011.
  41. ↑ Albion Park: home of the giant ugg boot? Illawarra Mercury, 5 September 2009.
  42. ↑ Grant, Lorrie (10 December 2003). "UGG boots a fashion kick". USA Today. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  43. ↑ Julie Neigher (20 December 2009). "It looks like Ugg love". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Plant, Simon (22 February 2007). "Shake your booty". Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia). p. W22.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Needham, Kirsty (13 March 2004). "Putting the boot in". The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, Australia). p. 33. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  46. ↑ Sheepskin and Shearling Frequently asked Questions Shepherd's Flock
  47. ↑ The Truth About Ugg Boots: History, Controversy & Who Wears Them Whygo Australia 5 August 2010
  48. ↑ "Pamela Anderson Learns Ugg Boots Made From Sheepskin, Speaks Out Against Them". Fox News. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  49. ↑ ""PAWS takes aim at Ugg boots". Daily Princetonian. 25 February 2008.
  50. ↑ McDermott, Kathie (22 February 2009). "Are UGGs Bad for You?". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  51. ↑ "Verdict: Case number / Docket number: 74950 / HA ZA 08-2234" (in Dutch). Court Dordrecht. 24 December 2008
  52. ↑ Arnold, James (19 February 2004). "Aussie boot battle takes an Uggly turn". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2010.

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