I choose to use these mantras not for myself or to entitle myself with some sort of elitist nonsense but to let people know what I do or do not eat. It is easier then explaining what I do or don't eat seeing most people know what a vegan adheres to. I monstly tell them in a setting where we would be eating together. Sometimes people are surprised when I tell them I don't eat animal products seeing they have known me for years but didn't know.
Anyway, if I say I don't eat animal products when the topic comes up, they always immedeately ask "so you are vegan?". So, to others that are not "vegan", vegan is a dieteray choice, and they don't often consider belts, wallets, gelatin, etc...
However I do think that veganism or being vegan means not using animal products by it's definition. This is not a critique but it is what the word actually means. So not having a leather belt or a leather wallet, not eating a cake because it has gelatin or eggs, etc because they are what a vegan avoids: animal products. This is what veganism is. If you believe there should be a term for people that more losely adhere to veganism than you have the term 'vegetarian' and maybe something like a 'flexi-vegan' but by definition, a person that uses animal products or byproducts is a not a 'vegan'.
However I AM of the opinion that everyone that limits their meat, fish and dairy consumption already greatly helps the environment and already saves many animals no matter which "category of consumers" you would put them under.