If history is any guide the fabric failure is due to fraud in filling the clothing contracts. Many years ago my Uncle Reported that when he was in the Army in WWI their shoes disintegrated at the first rain in France. Government contractor fraud is an old story reaching back to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War etc. In a Democracy it is cash flow that counts; honesty and concern for the country are meaningless concepts.
The more things change... the term “shoddy” originally referred to a type of cloth made from reprocessed wool. It held up fine when dry, but easily tore when wet. During the War Between The States uniforms made from it would fall off the soldier’s bodies after a march in the rain. The term lingers to this day.