Bold women entrepreneurs: Two inspiring women working for the well-being of all

In 2017, Erica Lebrun and Olivia Elting founded the company Mme L’Ovary. The two friends worked together to create washable menstrual panties that over 25,000 women in Canada, the United States and Europe wear today.

It all started on a Barcelona beach when Olivia saw a disposable sanitary napkin floating in the water. Disgusted, she said to herself, “You must do something!”

Despite extensive research, she failed to find an eco-friendly alternative to disposable pads. Olivia took action and created her own prototype: menstrual underwear with three washable and reusable pads. A few years later, Erica discovered the ingenious underwear. One thing led to another, and soon the company was founded and began to grow.

Mme L’Ovary now offers a complete range of menstrual underwear for daytime and nighttime use that are adapted to customers’ needs.

When the round table turns red

At the beginning of the pandemic, Mme L’Ovary launched Red Tables, an inclusive, virtual conversation space dedicated to topics often considered taboo.

The goal? To bring people together during this uncertain time and, above all, to spread a more positive message about women’s health. Today, Red Tables brings together an average of 200 people per event.

We are looking ahead. Our education and social mission is to bring about positive and lasting change in our society.

Erica and Olivia

And there’s even more: The company also supports Monthly Dignity, an association that aims to improve access to menstrual products for people with low incomes.

A ton of effort for zero waste

Olivia and Erica also developed Operation #Zero-Waste in collaboration with Incita. This co-op provides zero-waste strategic consulting services. They worked together to present recommendations on how to reduce single-use menstrual products. The initiative garnered over 14,000 signatures and is part of Montreal’s 2020–2025 Master Plan for Residual Materials Management.

A success story and a better future

Mme L’Ovary is an excellent example of a homegrown enterprise that is involved in its community, succeeding in business and contributing to the well-being of our planet. It’s the inspiring story of two young entrepreneurs who wanted to “weave together a greener, more sensitive new world.”