The Courier

UGGs – unfriendly to animals?

Are these boots really made for walking?

UGG boots on the feet of women all over Centennial College campuses and even on celebrities, UGGs continue to be all the rage these days. However, cruel methods go into making these boots, say People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on their website.

“No, probably not, no,” Melissa Hillwer said when asked if she would still wear UGG after being told that PETA says animals are harmed in their creation.

“Honestly I would probably (continue to wear them), but I would think twice”, Tiana Ross, another student, said.

UGG boots were first seen on celebrities like Britney Spears a couple of years ago, and are still fashionable. They are in many shoe boutiques in malls like the Eaton Centre. 

According to an article on PETA’s website, merino sheep are abused for their wool. In some cases these sheep are tortured to death to get wool to create items such as UGG and Emu boots. 

All of the wool used to create UGG and Emu boots, as seen on the tag, comes from these merino sheep. Unlike other sheep, these ones are breed to grow abnormal amounts of wool, which creates folds in their skin. PETA says that instead of trimming around the contours of the sheep skin, farmers cut off the folds of flesh along with the wool. This leaves open wounds on the sheep, which can get infected and kill the animal. PETA also says that during this process the sheep are not sedated.

PETA,along with celebrities such as singer Pink, and actor Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line, Signs), is calling upon people to boycott wool, specifically merino wool. As Pink suggests in an online video on the PETA website, people can find various alternatives to clothing made from animals. 

There are many synthetic real-looking and feeling clothes available from various designers. For example, P.V.C. (Polyvinyl chloride) is an authentic- looking alternative to leather, and is used by many high-end brands such as well-known designers such as Betsey Johnson and Jeanne Lottie. Stella McCartney’s synthetics are also animal-friendly fashions. People can still wear their favourite designers and do their part to stop animal cruelty if they buy the synthetic designer products. 

Furthermore, there are many alternative mukluk-style boots available as substitutes for Emu and UGG. Other well-known brand names such as Sketchers and Rocket Dog sell alternatives. 

For more information about cruelty-free fashions visit http://www.peta.org and to watch a video on how they get animal skins go to http://www.peta.org/whoseskin/.