Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

A spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, which is headquartered in Roanoke, said people should keep donating items and Goodwill will sort through them.

Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

James Scott places acceptable toys on the shelf of a Goodwill store on Melrose Avenue in Roanoke on Friday.

Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Paint on some toy cars may contain lead.

The shiny toy car, smaller than a computer mouse, appeared harmless.

As did the previously worn denim vest with the cute, jeweled buttons.

Yet the Goodwill thrift store on Melrose Avenue Northwest in Roanoke has decided not to sell them.

The Once Upon A Child store on Towne Square Boulevard Northwest has stopped buying certain types of used children's clothes, toys and gear.

And this during an economic crisis that is sending many consumers to secondhand stores.

What's up?

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which took effect Feb. 10, sets tough new standards for the presence of lead or plastic-softening chemicals called phthalates in toys, some clothing fasteners, some children's books, jewelry and many other products designed for use by children 12 years old and younger.

The law affects manufacturers, importers, small-scale toymakers, retailers and thrift or secondhand shops. The legislation was motivated by a flurry of recalls in 2007 of children's products found to contain lead and other potentially harmful substances.

Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the commission's enforcement of the law for stores that sell used children's products will be reasonable.

"We understand that it's a very difficult time in the economy and that thrift stores are very valuable across the country," Davis said. "We don't want to put any thrift stores out of business."

Such stores are exempt from testing requirements for lead and phthalates that affect manufacturers and importers.

But they could still be in trouble if they sell the wrong products.

"We have heard of stores being very cautious," Davis said. "It's probably a good thing. But it may be that a lot of the items they are sidelining do not have to be."

Kelly Sandridge is a spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, which is headquartered in Roanoke and serves 31 counties and 14 cities in the Shenandoah Valley, central and Southwest Virginia.

"We are being very conservative about what we put out on the store shelves," Sandridge said.

At the Goodwill store on Melrose Avenue Northwest, she and store manager Rynan Thomas point to a limited selection of toys for sale. In the back room, among other suspect items pulled from inventory or donations, they display the metallic toy car and the denim vest. The latter's metal buttons were cause for concern, Thomas said, and the car's paint could contain lead.

He said the inventory of children's clothes continues to shrink as items with metallic components are no longer sold.

That was bad news for Sylvia Hubbard, who browsed in search of clothes for two of her 10 grandchildren. She said she relies on finding good secondhand garments for the children.

"You can get some nice little things here for just a few dollars," Hubbard said.

Sandridge said sales at the Goodwill stores are up but donations are down as people apparently keep clothing and other items longer. She emphasized that people considering donating toys or children's clothes should still make those donations. Goodwill will sort through them, she said.

Sherri Nowlin owns the franchise for the Once Upon A Child store on Towne Square Boulevard.

"We are really watching our toys and not buying anything you would suspect might have high levels of lead," Nowlin said. "We've had to turn down some nice toys that probably would have sold pretty good for us."

What about the new law's financial effects?

Sandridge said it's too soon to tell, but noted that sales of toys and children's clothes account for about 20 percent of sales for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.

Nowlin said she does not anticipate a big financial blow, because her store has been preparing for the consumer act to take effect.

The law also has repercussions for manufacturers and retailers of youth-sized off-highway motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, which can contain small quantities of lead in such components as battery terminals, brake and clutch levers, and throttle controls.

"I don't know who came up with the law, but that's one of the craziest things I've ever heard of," said Eric Dogan, who owns Roanoke Cycle Sports on Williamson Road.

"If I had kids, I'd be more worried about them eating red dye in hot dogs," Dogan said. "I've never seen anybody eat a motorcycle -- on purpose, anyway."

Dogan said his business sells few youth-sized ATVs or off-highway cycles.

But for the shops that do and others in the industry, the Motorcycle Industry Council has estimated that lost sales of youth ATVs and motorcycles "could lead to $1 billion in lost economic value annually."