Consistant tearing of Levi Jeans - Bad Quality

I have been purchasing Levi 501 Jeans for over 15 years and have loved the style as well as rugged quality of the brand and have always associated it with long-lasting quality. <br> <br> This was until about 2 years ago, when the jeans started tearing and wearing thin at the crotch area within a very short time. <br> <br> The first time this happened, I did not think much of it, however this seems to now have become a consistant pattern to Levi 501 (perhpas even other Levi 'numbers' but I do not wear those) after it happened to a 2nd pair in under 6 months.<br> <br> During December I purchased another 2x pair of Levi 501 blue jeans. The jeans are now not even 6 months old, have had very little wear and no more than 5 washes. After the 4th/5th wash I noticed a weak patch occuring in the crotch area....AGAIN!<br> <br> After wearing them with the weak patch , this quickly (overnight) eroded into a hole the size of my finger, and I am now sitting with a useless pair(s) of jeans with exactly the same fault as previous pairs. The faults are literally identical - in the same place and the same chracteristics. These were bought at Edgars.<br> <br> What has happened to your once trusted brand known for quality? Really gone down!!