How much did it cost you to buy a pair of snow boots on Double 11? On the official website of UGG, the cheapest sheepskin snow boots with fur are 1399 yuan, and the blended material is nearly 1000 yuan.
As with most commodities, the price of snow boots depends on what raw materials are used to make them. Artificial fur has the lowest price, and the breathability and warmth are also the worst; The better is the blend, generally made of recycled wool and chemical fibers, sacrificing some warmth and breathability, but the price is relatively affordable; The best is the use of fur integrated material, the original material is sheepskin, the leather is uniform, the wool is soft and dense, and the performance is excellent in warmth and breathability, comfort and durability.
Although authentic Australian snow boots are made of Australian sheepskin, the raw materials of products on the market are actually very rich, such as China, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina and Uruguay in South America, which are very important sheep leather producers.
Backed by the Pampas, Uruguay is an important livestock country in South America like Argentina, where most families work in meat and leather processing. This time I came to Uruguay and stopped by to visit the tannery owned by my good friend Alicia.
Alicia operates two tanneries, one in Uruguay, which mainly produces sheepskins and some cowhides, and the other in southern Argentina, specializing in the export of cowhides. When the environment is good, the cattle and sheepskin products shipped from Alicia's factory to China every month can reach 40 containers, including 10 cabinets of sheepskin, 30 cabinets of cowhide, and the number of leather in each container is about 5,000-10,000 pieces When these raw materials are processed into leather clothing, leather boots and other finished products, the price can be at least 100 times.
Alicia's leather warehouse
Uruguayan sheepskin factory, 300,000 sheepskins cannot be sold
Alicia is an unpretentious female entrepreneur, and the factory has been passed down to her for the third generation. Her husband is also a well-known banker in Uruguay and currently works as an executive at a bank.
Alicia
We drove to the tannery in Alicia. From the moment she enters the gate, all that can be seen around is her private property, and the factory building plus land totals 170,000 square meters, which she saved money from decades of business.
On the right hand side of the entrance is the office, and continue to walk back to the warehouse and factory area. There are three warehouses, the smallest one stores at least 30,000 sheepskins, the largest warehouse has more than 150,000 sheets, and the entire factory stores more than 300,000 sheepskins.
Tannery in Alicia
Alicia took us into the largest warehouse, and the whole person was like walking into a sheepskin mountain, and there was a strong smell of wool in the air. Uruguay mainly raises sheep, so Alicia's factories are full of sheep skins. These sheepskins have only undergone the primary processing process of scraps and salting, and the requirements for storage conditions are not high, and the warehouse only needs to be ventilated and fireproofed.
The largest warehouse, piled up in mountains of sheepskins
There are more than 30 workers in the factory, and Alicia comes to supervise the work every Monday to Friday. Since we arrived on the weekend, we couldn't see the workers at work.
Alicia
In addition to sheepskins, there is also a warehouse for storing cowhides. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the entire Uruguayan wool industry has suffered a heavy setback, and the factory's cowhide is still exporting, but the sheepskin has stagnated.
Workers dispose of cowhides that have just been purchased from the slaughterhouse
The official website sells snow boots for 2,000 yuan, how much does it cost?
Alicia picked up a piece of sheepskin and showed it to us, which weighed about 5-6 kilograms and was graded according to the length, fineness and opening size of the wool.
Whole sheepskin
The factory mainly exports 3 specifications of sheepskin, which are 1-2cm, 3-5cm and more than 5cm in hair. The specifications are different, and the number of packing and packing is also different, 200 sheets for a bundle with a gross length of 1-2cm, 10800 sheets for a cabinet; 120 sheets in a bundle with a hair length of 3-5cm, 7200 sheets in a cabinet; A bundle of 80-90 sheets with a hair length of 5-10cm, 5000 sheets in a cabinet. All three are very popular in the Chinese market, with the 1-2cm type selling best.
The wool is very delicate and soft
Sheep leather, which has integrated fur, is excellent in terms of warmth, breathability, and moisture resistance, and is processed into leather clothing and snow boots. A pair of snow boots made of natural sheepskin sells for at least 1,000 yuan on the official website, so how much does it cost?
Alicia said that depending on the specifications, the price range of a sheepskin ranges from 2-10 US dollars, which is 13-66 yuan a piece according to the current exchange rate. They also have a showroom in China to showcase these quality products.
Pack in bales of sheepskin
After touring the production and storage areas, Alicia took us to her office. The office is very simple, with a set of Chinese-style tea sets on the reception table and a bill for the export of cow and sheepskin on the desk. Uruguay's Food Export Inspection Association comes to review these documents before each export.
Documents for export to China
China is the largest importer of Uruguayan sheepskin, and the leather jackets and shoes we wear may come from Alicia's factory.