Is Morphe Cruelty-Free?

A lot of people ask, “Is Morphe cruelty-free?” Morphe is a budget-friendly brand that is very popular in the YouTube and Instagram beauty scene. If you watch any YouTube makeup videos, odds are that you have heard of Morphe before. They also have a store in the Los Angeles, CA area.

When it comes to cruelty-free brands, there can be a lot of confusion about which brands are cruelty-free and which are not. In an attempt to make things easier, this post series hopes to help clear up the cruelty-free stance of some of the most asked about brands on Logical Harmony.

Is Morphe cruelty-free? Keep reading to find out the details.

Is Morphe cruelty-free? No. Morphe is not cruelty-free.

Morphe was on the Grey Area List here at Logical Harmony for a long time. I was unable to get enough information from the brand to feel comfortable labeling them as cruelty-free but also wasn’t comfortable saying that they were not cruelty-free either.

I had only received vague statements from the brand such as, “our products are cruelty-free,” “Morphe does not condone the use of animals for cosmetic testing“, or “Morphe absolutely does not use any of our products on animals for testing purposes and we do not condone the use of animals for cosmetic testing.“

This statement was unclear to me for a couple of reasons:

1. They would only address animal testing that is potentially being done by Morphe themselves. They would not address if any ingredient suppliers or 3rd party groups are testing Morphe products on animals at any point. In most cases, the brands themselves are not the ones testing on animals so it’s concerning to me that I have been unable to get further clarification here.
2. Just because they do not condone animal testing for cosmetics does not mean that they are cruelty-free. Many brands who do test on animals, or pay 3rd parties to test on animals on their behalf, use a similar statement.

If you read my post on brand FAQ pages and generic cruelty-free statements, you will know why I don’t consider these to be helpful or clear responses. Neither answer sheds much light on the Morphe cruelty-free status. The term “cruelty-free” has no legal or even widely agreed on definition. This means that any brand can say that they are cruelty-free, no matter what their practices are. When asked additional questions, or to start the process to be listed on Logical Harmony, Morphe does not respond or provide clarification. At this time, Morphe is also not certified as cruelty-free by PETA or Leaping Bunny.

As of March 2021, I do not consider Morphe to be a cruelty-free brand. They have confirmed that they are selling in stores in Mainland China, where animal testing is required by law.

Are Morphe products sold in China? Yes.

Morphe has products that are sold in stores in China. Morphe claims that they are able to avoid any pre-market animal testing that may be required. It is possible that Morphe can avoid pre-market animal testing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t remove the potential for post-market animal testing.

Does Morphe test on animals when required by law? Yes.

By selling in stores in Mainland China, Morphe is subjecting their products to required by law animal testing.