Ecoinnovation as a driver of positive environmental benefits in Czech textile industry in context of EU

In the modern world, innovation is a prerequisite for a company's competitiveness in any industry. Nowadays, emphasis is also placed on sustainable growth of the company, which includes, among other things, the environmental dimension of economic development, especially energy savings, optimization of water consumption, elimination of water waste, minimization of waste, use of secondary raw materials in production, etc. The aim of this article is to identify innovative activities of enterprises in the textile industry of the Czech Republic in the context of the EU. These are innovations that both contribute to environmental protection and are thus effective for the enterprise. The evaluation of innovative activities of textile enterprises is also made from the perspective of environmental benefit. Although it has been found that eco-innovations are being implemented in this sector across the EU, which provide significant savings especially in energy consumption, hence transforming the sector towards sustainability and environmental friendliness, this progress is very slow. It is mainly the cheaper products from developing countries that are very significant competitors for European textiles in the eyes of consumers.