The Real Ugg Problem: Why "Genuine" Doesn’t Mean What You Think
This is our view as a sheepskin tannery that’s been working in the industry for more than 35 years.
“Are these real uggs?”
It’s one of the most common questions we hear across our retail stores, and after 15 years behind the counter, I can tell you the confusion is enormous. Part of that is natural — “ugg” means different things to different people. And part of it, in our view, comes from how the industry markets itself.
Try a quick Google search for “original ugg boots.” Scroll slowly. You’ll notice a number of websites and trading names built around the words “Original” or “Genuine.” Whether that’s intentional or not, it can add to the confusion shoppers already face when they’re just trying to work out what they’re buying.
So what actually is a real ugg? The answer depends on who’s asking.
The overseas confusion: UGG the brand
When an international customer asks about “genuine UGGs,” they’re almost always talking about the American brand UGG — a large, publicly listed company with hundreds of stores across the globe. That company holds the UGG trademark in most countries outside Australia and New Zealand, which means no one else can legally call a sheepskin boot an “ugg” in those markets.
Their attempt to register the trademark here was ultimately unsuccessful, which is why Aussie makers can still use the word locally. But the moment we try to sell internationally— we can’t use the word anywhere. Not on packaging, not in ads, not on the website. It’s a real handbrake on our industry and restricts many Aussie businesses from expansion.
In Australia though, UGG the brand has limited presence You’ll find it in a handful of select retailers, but it’s nowhere near the household name it is overseas.
The local confusion: what does “genuine” even mean here?
When an Aussie customer asks if our boots are “genuine uggs,” I often gently ask what they actually mean. It usually comes down to one of two things: they want to know if the boots are made from real sheepskin (ours always are), or they think “ugg” is a single brand and are trying to work out if ours is the right one.
Here’s the thing — in Australia, “ugg” is a generic term. There’s no single official ugg brand. Plenty of Aussie makers produce them, and the word describes a style of sheepskin boot, not a label. Often, when I ask customers to dig a little deeper into what they’re really asking, they realise they’re not sure themselves. That’s how deep the confusion runs.
Where it gets murky: quality
Because “genuine” and “original” mean so little on their own, it’s worth knowing what to actually look for in the product itself. In our experience as a tannery, we regularly come across boots sold as uggs that use very different materials from a traditional doubleface sheepskin boot.
A few things worth knowing before you buy.
Some boots sold as uggs aren’t made from sheepskin at all. They use a textile mesh with wool and nylon strands woven through it, designed to feel like pure wool. If you pull the fibres apart and see a mesh backing instead of leather skin underneath, that’s not genuine sheepskin.
We’ve also seen a growing trend of brands using lower-grade sheepskin on the inside and cow or pig suede on the outside of the boot. It’s a cheaper way to make an ugg, and in our view the results generally don’t hold up as well as a traditional sheepskin outer.
And then there’s the gold standard: doubleface sheepskin. A properly made ugg uses a single sheepskin hide, cut and sewn so the wool sits on the inside and the leather on the outside. That’s what our tanning industry means by “doubleface.” Pull the wool fibres apart and you should see the leather skin underneath. No doubleface, no proper ugg.
The short version
“Real ugg” means different things depending on where you’re standing. Overseas, it’s a trademarked American brand. In Australia, it’s a generic term for a sheepskin boot — but the quality between makers can vary enormously. Words like “original” or “genuine” in a trading name don’t guarantee a thing on their own, and they can leave consumers thinking there’s one “original” ugg when in fact there isn’t.
As a sheepskin tannery, we've seen every version of this story. The industry has confused consumers for a long time, and in our view it still does. It's frustrating for us, as we're trying to showcase the best of Australian sheepskin and put Australia in the best light. The best defence is knowing what to look for — and remembering that "Original" in a brand name doesn't actually mean original, or the best quality.
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