An exhibition of Hawaiian wear at the William Morris Hunt Memorial Library in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts was intended to bring a warm respite to a New England winter, but it also sends a timely message to consumers about their part in the struggle for small companies and economies to survive amid global competition.

The exhibition features garments from the 1940s through ’70s from a private collection (the owner was not identified). Pieces range from Arakawa’s plantation palaka to commercial examples by Alfred Shaheen, Reyn Spooner, Waltah Clarke’s, Kamehameha and more, to handmade shirts from H. Miura of Haleiwa.

Librarian Paul McAlpine said their exhibitions generally support research by students, faculty and staff, but this one marks an attempt “to try something different.”

He said some members of the library staff are fans of Hawaiian music and culture thanks to past performances in the area by slack-key masters Jeff Peterson, George Kahumoku Jr. and Ledward Kaapana.

“Visiting library patrons are also surprised to see the colorful shirts and dresses, and each have expressed their favorite,” he said. Also on display with the garments is a selection of related books including “Ka Hana Kapa: The Making of Bark Cloth,” published by the Bishop Museum in 1911, and “Recreation and Idleness: The Pacific Travels of John La Farge.”

McAlpine said the exhibition is one he felt strongly about because of his experience visiting Oahu a decade ago. He said he was watching a hotel room video of things to do while on the island and was particularly struck by the story of the H. Miura shop in Haleiwa.

“I had to go there and found the building, but apparently no one at the hotel realized the shop had closed in 2005,” McAlpine said. “It was sad to me that this small business could not survive, showing how important it is to buy local wherever you go.

“Hawaii is trying to encourage this with a campaign to ‘buy local.’ It’s true of all arts and crafts. If you don’t support local artists, farmers, the people who make clothing, music and jewelry, you won’t have an economy that sustains people just getting out of school.”

Without as many resources as other manufacturing regions and nations, McAlpine said Hawaii’s industry has been subject to copycat vendors who have appropriated the concept of the aloha shirt for their own gain at the expense of local manufacturers.

The exhibition includes a contemporary shirt by Sun Surf Toyo of Japan, which specializes in reproducing classic Hawaiian shirts.

“Collectors have to be very careful because Japanese companies are making exact replicas with replica labels. So if you see something in too-good condition for having been made in the 1950s, you need to do more research,” he said.

To their credit, McAlpine said such companies do make it easy to don a vintage look if that’s your style.

“They do a nice job and their shirts are made to be worn, because if you have something real that’s 50 or 60 years old, you may want to preserve it instead of wearing it out.”

“Aloha: A Selection of Hawaiian Textiles” is on view through March 30 at the William Morris Hunt Memorial Library at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Visit mfa.org or call 617-369-3385.