UGG brand’s material innovations for Icon-Impact
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Our Innovation stories
- LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH SALLY YINGST
- Discover TENCEL™ Lyocell
- Plant Power Material Innovations
- UGG DEBUTS PLANT POWER
- UGG® launches inclusive UNIVERSAL collection
- Global Ratings App Good On You Recognises FEEL GOOD Platform
- Innovating an Icon: UGGplush™
- PART OF A FAMILY: OUR COMMITMENTS TO MATERIAL INNOVATION
It all started in 1978 when UGG founder and Australian surfer Brian Smith designed the first Classic Boot made from sheepskin, which became the brand’s iconic style. Fast forward to 2021, and we have expanded our material offering through innovation and selecting fibers with care, always considering their environmental impact, to ensure a responsible supply chain.
Today we’re proud to introduce our new AW21 Icon-Impact Collection, which features reclaimed wool, a low carbon impact material. To reimagine our UGG Classics into more sustainable pieces, we have come up with UGGplush™ and UGGcycle™, honoring our most iconic fiber, wool, as well as SugarSole™ made from renewable sugarcane.
Since we joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in 2016 and committed to a number of Sustainable Development Goals, we’ve been striving to do better and continue to move forward in our sustainability journey. Our goal is that, by 2027, 65% of our footwear products will feature recycled, repurposed, regenerated (plant-based), renewable (bio-based), or certified/preferred natural materials.
UGGplush™
The first innovation in our Icon-Impact Collection, UGGplush™ is made from a blend of reclaimed wool and TENCEL™ Lyocell, a viscose derived from responsibly harvested wood pulp from FSC-certified trees that is processed in a closed loop system where 99.7% of chemicals and water are recovered and reused. Reclaimed wool makes up almost 99% of the wool we use in our entire footwear line, and is a great way to optimize natural, animal-derived resources to make sure they are used to their fullest capacities.
UGGcycle™
Our second low-impact material, UGGcycle™, is a sustainable alternative to Twinface created using the same natural blend as UGGplush™. Both innovations feature a polyester backing made from recycled plastic bottles. As much as two PET bottles are re-used for each pair of shoes, diverting over 350,000 plastic bottles from landfills.
SugarSole™
Last but not least, we’re excited to be using SugarSole™ again. Featured in our SS21 Plant Power Collection, this environmentally-friendly material is made with renewable sugarcane replacing petroleum-based materials. The sweet crop is swift-growing and rainwater-nourished, absorbing 1.6 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere – what’s not to love?
With these three innovations, Icon-Impact has reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 1,560,000 lbs, decreased our energy usage by 39%, and saved over 812,000,000 liters of water compared to virgin sources. That’s a lot of savings if you ask us, but we’re not stopping there. For every purchase from the Icon-Impact Collection, one tree is planted through our partnership with the non-profit One Tree Panted, which you can find out more about here.
