Paul Van Zyl

While the recent tragedies in Bangladesh's garment factories are a reminder of how far the retail industry has to go in terms of reform, it's important to highlight those rare stories of fashion brands that do support the communities they work in. The latest project from Maiyet, the creation of a state-of-the-art weaving facility in Varanasi, India, to preserve the ancient silk-weaving tradition there, is one such story.

Maiyet, the luxury label with a social conscience, is barely a year old and launched their very first Pre-Fall collection this week. But the label is already expanding into different categories--and we don't mean accesories (been there, done that) or beauty. Maiyet launched a rum line along with their PreFall line this week.