Because of a lack of the wool insulation for Ugg boots, consumers worldwide are having trouble finding enough of the trendy boots to fill their closets.

The popular shoe brand is owned by American company Deckers Outdoor Corporation and sold under the brand name "Ugg Australia," although in Australia, any sheepskin boots are considered "Uggs."

James Kramer, of the Shoe Box, 214 E. College Ave., explained the sheep wool used to line Uggs can only be sheared from June to August.

The amount of wool that is sheared dictates the number of Uggs that can be produced until the following shearing season, which is contributing to the shortages.

"There's only so much sheep to go around," Kramer said. "You just have to wait for the wool to grow back."

Kramer said that shortly after the shearing season, Ugg boots are made, but as the wool supply dwindles, shoes that require less wool, such as clogs and slippers, are more commonly produced than boots.

The scarcity of Uggs is leading some consumers to look at other places to buy the footwear instead of at shoe stores.

"I got mine off eBay," Tamar Brill (freshman-communications) said.

The wool used in Ugg boots is more dense, durable and comfortable than any synthetic fiber, according to www.uggaustralia.com, but beside the comfort element, retailers are unsure what exactly has led to the popularity of the shoes.

"They're crazy popular," Kramer said. "We sell hundreds a month and I honestly don't know what makes them so popular."

Students seem to feel that the popularity of Ugg boots can be attributed primarily to their warmth, comfort and quality.

"They're really warm and comfortable, and we do a lot of walking around campus, so that is important," Brill said. "It's the quality, too. You know that it's a reliable brand."

From the shoe industry to the knitting and crocheting industry, manufacturers are attempting to become more creative by using alternative fibers such as bamboo, corn and hemp to compensate for the lack of wide availability of wool.

Deckers Outdoor Corporation is one of the many companies beginning to supply products using alternative fibers. The brand Simple, which is owned by Deckers Outdoor Corporation and is included in the inventory at The Shoe Box, is one of these companies getting creative.

Simple explains on its Web site, www.deckers.com, that the company makes "shoes for the planet," referring to the sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, remnants of plastic bottles and recycled car tires, that the company uses to make the alternative shoes.

The Knitters Underground, 308 S. Pennsylvania Ave., is Centre Hall, is another local business affected by the wool shortage.

Molly Mahaffy, Underground's owner, explained that the lack of wool is largely because of a lack of mills, and also because of potential trade issues.

"We're switching to organic fibers because all of the spinning and dying for wool is now done mostly in South America. There are no more mills in either Europe or America," Mahaffy said. "Aside from New Zealand, I don't think there are any major producers of wool anymore."

Cynthia Spencer, co-owner of Stitch Your Art Out, 235 Pine Grove Road, Pine Grove Mills, another local yarn shop, said the fiber industry is beginning to accommodate alternative fibers.

"I'm seeing the industry in general going that way. Now we have bamboo sock yarn, which we've never had before," Spencer said. "It's still kinda small at this stage but it seems to be getting stronger."