How should I parse “…many of them efforts…”?

[Man_From_India]

I first saw this question on another forum. (I didn't write the question originally on that forum. )The answer provided there didn't seem complete or understandable to me, so I thought I would ask here.
Specifically, I'm unsure of the meaning of the phrase in bold. I understand the literal meaning of many of them, but how does "efforts" go together with this phrase?

"So while some traditional trades - malster and blacksmith - had declined or vanished, they had been replaced by others, many of them efforts New Agey, Back-to-the-Land, and Save-the-Planet in nature." -- G.M.Malliet - Wicked autumn
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[MikeNewYork]

I first saw this question on another forum. (I didn't write the question originally on that forum. )The answer provided there didn't seem complete or understandable to me, so I thought I would ask here.
Specifically, I'm unsure of the meaning of the phrase in bold. I understand the literal meaning of many of them, but how does "efforts" go together with this phrase?

"So while some traditional trades - malster and blacksmith - had declined or vanished, they had been replaced by others, many of them efforts New Agey, Back-to-the-Land, and Save-the-Planet in nature." -- G.M.Malliet - Wicked autumn
​

The meaning is not terribly clear. I think it is saying that trades used to occupy people's thoughts and energies, but as the number of people involved in trades decreased, many people turned their attention to fads and causes. It does not seem to be a reasonable position, IMO