Sheepskin ugg boots and slippers tips

Ugg boots by Uggs-N-Rugs are made from A-Grade quality sheepskin and components, are priced attractively and customers receive excellent service.

By manufacturing and selling ugg boots direct to the customer, we are putting our name on the line because WE deal with the customers.  Margins on quality sheepskin footwear are that low now that we have to make every dollar count.  With Australia suffering a drought, sheep are becoming scarce and so we have to pay top dollar for our quality skins.  But we also believe in keeping prices down so that you the customer, gets a great deal. In our minds, this means you will be happy and come back time and time again for all your sheepskin footwear needs.  We have many, many repeat customers as a result of this ethic.

You might ask what should you look for when deciding on a purchase of sheepskin ugg boots and slippers. You can use the following as a bit of a guide:

1. Accept that there are many, many manufacturers of sheepskin footwear.  Ugg and ugg boots is a generic term in Australia having been around for years and years.  Ask any Aussie what an "ugg boot" is and they'll say sheepskin boot.  

2. Look for genuine sheepskin meaning that the wool on the inside is the wool part of the sheepskin and the leather on the outside is the leather part of the sheepskin. Don't be fooled into buying cheap boots that are called ugg boots but have cheap leather eg. pigskin outer layers and wool woven onto a netted back or cheap liner skins as the internal layer.  These types of footwear are proliferating on the Internet and will not last the distance. Uggs-N-Rugs' footwear are all made from 100% genuine sheepskin.

3. Look for a brand that has been around a long time.  Cheapo brands go out of business real quick.  We have been in business for over 25 years and have been around since the real birth of the ugg boot in the 1970's.

4. Look for something made in Australia.  Australia was the birthplace of the ugg boot so why buy products made elsewhere?  Don't think clever slogans guarantee Australian made products.  One manufacture uses Australia prominently in their slogan and yet they have manufacturers from China, New Zealand and Australia actually making their footwear.  Read the small print on the labels to determine where they are made.  Ours are made in Western Australia.

5. Look at the heel of the footwear and determine how supportive it is.  Sheepskin being a soft leather needs real support (not just cosmetic looks) in the heel to stop your feet sliding around.  We actually manufacture special moulded heel counters and then stitch them in between the suede leather heel piece and the sheepskin upper of our boot range.  We had to start manufacturing the special heel counters ourselves because suppliers stopped making them (presumably because no one else was using them).  It is an 'art' to stitch them in but we have mastered it.  Don't be fooled into pretty bits of leather or companies stating they slide a counter into the heel.  This does very little for support because a) it's not moulded and b) it's not stitched-in to the actual upper and inner sole.

6. Look at the soles used.  Uggs-N-Rugs use lightweight EVA as their base soling material and also offer a heavy tread rubber compound as an optional alternative.  BUT most importantly, they glue the soles and attach to the uppers using a high powered compressor.  Fifteen or so years ago, we were one of the first in the industry to buy an expensive side-stitched soling machine but soon discovered these types of soles limited the life of the boots.  What happened was that the side lips of the soles actually flexed and created a knife-like action when people walked in the footwear.  This very soon slit the soft sheepskin rendering them useless because the upper was no longer capable of having a sole attached.  So we went back to using the tried and trusted method of gluing soles to the uppers.  The material is robust and the life of the footwear was extended.  Of course reducing the life expectancy can be beneficial so many competitors still put side-stitched soles onto their footwear in the hope that customers will return to them quicker.  But we think that customers will be upset and therefore not re-purchase if they feel they haven't got value for money.

7. We could go on and on but the main issues are outlined above.