Tulane Student Launches Sustainable Swimwear Brand CHARK, Expands from Campus to Coast

Charlotte Greer, a senior at Tulane University, is already seeing early signs of success as a fashion entrepreneur—even before graduating. In September 2024, she launched CHARK, a sustainable swimwear brand built around the needs of college women — and it has quietly grown, pop-up by pop-up, from a single campus in New Orleans to universities across the country.  
She sat down recently with Kiersten Elbaz, a marketing intern at the Tulane Innovation Institute, to talk about how it started and where it's going. 

The origin, as with many good ideas, was a conversation. A group chat among sorority friends surfaced a familiar complaint: where do you find a swimsuit that is affordable, flattering, and not destined for the trash after one summer? The options, as Charlotte saw them, were either out of reach for a college student's budget or cheap enough to feel disposable. "There was a gap," she said. 
 
The name came from her sister, pairing ‘Charlotte’ with another pillar of the brand—donating a portion of sales to marine life conservation. CHARK was born. "The name began to shape the brand's vibe and what I wanted the company to be," Charlotte recalled. She started small, sourcing materials, developing a brand identity, and focusing on her friends at Tulane, who were her first and most immediate market.  


She found a manufacturer that could produce a line using recycled and upcycled materials, including fabrics made from ocean waste. The suits are designed to be sustainable and affordable without sacrificing fit. She then began hosting pop-ups with campus organizations — testing styles, reading the room, and watching what people bought. Her roommates became a focus group. 

The pop-ups have since traveled. CHARK has appeared at the University of Miami, with the University of Wisconsin next on the calendar. The brand's tagline, Campus to Coast, doubles as its strategy: establish credibility with college women first, then grow outward with them. The momentum is building, with a feature published in Vanity Fair, and the swimwear line will soon have a presence in boutiques.  

Charlotte has long had an interest in fashion, and an internship in the social media department at Michael Kors gave her an early look at how a fashion brand operates, reinforcing her desire to build her own company.

She is also currently enrolled in the inaugural Startup Strategy Lab, a new course offered through Tulane's Strategic Leadership and Analytics Minor in partnership with the Tulane Innovation Institute and the School of Liberal Arts. Taught by Professor Allyson Joy Heumann, the class allows Charlotte to apply what she is learning directly to CHARK and refine the business while earning academic credit for it.  


Asked what she would tell other students with an idea they haven't acted on yet, she didn't hesitate. "Just start. There is nothing that is stopping you. If you have an idea and you are passionate about it, there are no boundaries, and nobody can stop you." She added that while entrepreneurship is open to anyone — "you can become an entrepreneur if you are 8 or 80" — college is a particular window. 

The resources are there, she said, and so is the hunger. Charlotte took her own advice to heart: she started CHARK while earning her degree and enjoying life in New Orleans and at Tulane. The brand began in a group chat among Green Wave friends and continues to find its current.

Story and video by Kiersten Elbaz and Ellie Mitchell, Tulane Innovation Institute Marketing & Communications Interns.