Local officials held a news conference in Xinjiang on Friday to defend the northwestern Chinese autonomous region's cotton industry. The controversy surrounding Xinjiang cotton has sparked endless debate these past weeks. Critics, such as the Better Cotton Initiative, allege it's produced through "forced labor". Many farmers from Xinjiang have been speaking out, saying cotton has helped them earn a better living. "Those who are spreading rumors against Xinjiang cotton, aren't protecting our rights. They are trying to leave our cotton rot in the land and smash our way of earning a living. They want to make us jobless ang hungry and return us to the days of living in poverty," said Bakri Suwuer, a local cotton farmer, at the press conference.