Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has said that it plans to start shipping products made in Brazil to other Latin American markets in 2026.

The news was announced by Brazilian production director Fabiana Magalhaes, speaking at an event at the company’s Sao Paulo office.

The company launched its first production centre outside of China in Brazil earlier this year, and aims to have 85 per cent of its sales in the country produced locally by 2026. Brazil is one of Shein’s five main markets and its largest in Latin America.

Magalhaes reiterated this commitment during her statement, in which she said: "The idea is that by 2026 Brazil will be ready to serve Latin America. We've already been doing some internal studies to make these exports happen.”

The executive did not specify which Latin American countries would receive products from Brazil when it does make this transition.

Shein has pledged to invest $148 million in the country over the coming years to establish a network of local manufacturers. The company has signed 336 partnerships to date, with 213 producing clothes across 12 Brazilian states.

The company also started manufacturing in Turkey earlier this year, and has said that it plans to build a factory in Mexico.

The low-cost Shein has faced major criticism over alleged use of forced labour, particularly of marginalised Uyghurs in China. The company has been accused of falsifying reports of forced or underpaid labour of its supplier factories, with some allegedly located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

The company has ambitions to go public with a reported valuation of $66 billion, but lawmakers including the newly formed House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party scrutinise its activities.

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