Ugg launches footwear collection created from plant-based materials

US footwear brand Ugg has launched a fresh collection made from plant-based materials.

The dual-gender Plant Power Collection features three of Ugg’s popular styles reimagined with an increase of sustainable components, including Tencel branded Lyocell fibres.

The brand’s Fluff Sugar Platform and Fluff Glucose Sandal looks have swapped their soles - which are traditionally made using petroleum-based supplies - with SugarSole, a foam produced from renewable sugarcane. The fluff along with the shoes is manufactured out of Tencel Lyocell, a fibre made of lumber pulp from responsibly harvested trees.

The third shoe, the Neumel Herbal, adapts the look and feel of the brand’s best-selling Neumel chukka, but uses plant-based elements like cozy lining with Tencel Lyocell. Its handcrafted, small-batch soles are made from Lactae Hevea latex harvested from the Hevea rubber tree, while its higher is woven from a mixture of 55 percent cotton and 45 percent hemp.

It follows the start of Ugg’s sustainability platform ‘Feel Good’ launched in October 2020.

“At Ugg, we are focused on doing our part to fight climate transformation,” said Ugg president Andrea O’Donnell in a statement. “Our style team took motivation from our iconic designs and created new silhouettes created from carbon-neutral, plant-based supplies. The resulting Plant Electricity Collection tells a tale about what is possible, in fact it is an exciting step in on our voyage towards a far more sustainable future.”