UGG Since 1974
On Track. Pays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 5 sources
Family-run Gold Coast maker of sheepskin boots.
UGG Since 1974 makes its sheepskin ugg boots in its own factories in Australia, where labour laws are strong and legal wages are about a living wage.
Also worth knowing
It carries the Australian Made label.
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Compare UGG Since 1974 with another brand
Why it's graded On Track
- Not met: Meets 6 of 7 Good requirements.
- Met: No red flags.
Good requirements 6 of 7
- Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: presumed because legal wages in Australia are about a living wage, not checked at the company
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standardsPresumed from where it's made, not audited
- Not met: Shows where its earlier production stages happen, not just the final oneA "Made in" claim can cover only the final stage. Earlier stages to show: yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Met: High-risk raw materials (leather) traced or certified, or not a major part of its rangeTraced or certified: leather
Red flags 0
None found.
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Accreditations 1
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using UGG Since 1974's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
Boots, Shoes: On Track, the same as UGG Since 1974 overall, because nothing we know differs between them.
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where it's made
From UGG Since 1974's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for clothes and shoes: traces or certifies its leather.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Uses little or no cotton (e.g. wool, linen or leather products)
- "Made in Australia" only means the last major stage happened there: under customs and consumer law, yarn, fabric, dyeing and, for shoes, uppers can be made elsewhere. It hasn't shown where those earlier stages happen, so where it's made counts towards On Track but not Good. Source
- Traces or certifies most but not all of its leather. That doesn't count against it for Good, but the "Open supply chain" star needs all of it traced, certified or upcycled.
Research notes UGG Since 1974 is a family-run Gold Coast business, unrelated to Deckers' global UGG brand, that makes sheepskin boots and slippers from start to finish in its own workshop in Miami, south-east Queensland, under an Australian Made licence; it sells through its own stores on the Gold Coast and in Sydney's The Rocks and online. It uses Australian merino sheepskins, a by-product of the meat industry, but does not say where the skins are tanned, and leather tanning is a known labour and chemical risk. It holds no labour certification beyond Australian Made and publishes no supplier or tannery list; the company said in 2022 that up to 30 local jobs depended on the business.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical Clothing Australia | Not listed | Not in Ethical Clothing Australia's current brand directory (57 brands). View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | No B Corp certification is mentioned by the brand or found in searches. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No labour allegations against the brand appear in searches. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Australian Made: UGG Since 1974 licensee · search the archive · Registered Australian Made licensee (manufacturer at 23 Christine Avenue, Miami QLD; retailer in The Rocks, Sydney) covering ugg boots, slippers and sheepskin products described as 100% Australian made from start to finish in QLD.
- Australian Made: Ugg Boots by UGG Since 1974 · search the archive · Each pair individually crafted at its Gold Coast workshop; no sheepskin tanning origin stated.
- Australian Manufacturing: Not just an UGG boot - When Made in Australia is Best · search the archive · Company media release (May 2022): third-generation family business run by Todd and Hannah Watts; completely Australian operation from hide to boot using Australian merino; up to 30 jobs protected; sold only through own online store and storefront.
- WeekendNotes: UGG Since 1974 · search the archive · Founded by Arthur Springthorpe, who began making uggs in 1974; Gold Coast factory with tours; grandson Todd is production manager; A-grade merino sheepskins as a meat-industry by-product; each item traceable to the artisan who made it (2017).
- Australian Sheepskin Association: UGG Australian Made Since 1974 · search the archive · Australian owned; handcrafted from start to finish in a custom-built south-east Queensland workshop; stores on the Gold Coast and in The Rocks, Sydney.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Employees
- About 30
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is UGG Since 1974 ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ugg-since-1974, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What On Track means
Better-graded footwear
Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent UGG Since 1974.